Black Fathomless Eyes
by Gucia
Summary: A Horcrux is destroyed, a prisoner is taken. As four people get trapped in the memories of a stranger, questions are answered and new ones arise...but is it a stranger? Post HBP. SSOC
1. A Mysterious Prisoner

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine… Oh how I wish I could claim these characters for myself and never let them go! ;)**

**A/N**

**Although I do take full responsibility for any original characters and plot. If you find anything you like, feel free to borrow it without asking for my consent (makes me feel soo important… as if! LOL!) ;P **

**One suggestion: Just go with the flow for now and see how it pans out. Explanations and details will come gradually, although if you find any holes in the plot (at any time) please review and tell me about it, I'll be grateful ;)**

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**Chapter I**

**A Mysterious Prisoner**

It was a warm summer night when Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks found themselves the only occupants of Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys were all busy with preparations for the upcoming wedding between Bill and Fleur, while everyone else was currently on some mission or other, performing more or less demanding and dangerous duties. Harry was still at his aunt's house on Privet Drive and Hermione was staying with her parents. Number Twelve couldn't be left empty and someone had to be there in case of an emergency and other members had to be notified. Tonks and Remus had drawn the short straw today…

And so they were – sitting together in the kitchen, sipping cups of tea that had long ago grown cold, sitting in silence and unwilling to break it, both lost in their own thoughts. There had been far too many casualties lately. After Dumbledore's death Voldemort was thriving and he'd become more bold – the Order and the Ministry were hard pressed to keep the Dark Lord's forces at bay. What the Ministry didn't yet know was that defeating Voldemort was impossible as long as he had his Horcruxes intact – the Order hadn't thought it a good idea to inform the Ministry about their existence since even Dumbledore hadn't trusted the Ministry of Magic with all that he knew.

Dumbledore's death weighed heavily on the whole Order and the massive attacks of Voldemort's Death Eaters all over Britain only made things worse. Everyone was busy and their depression was growing stronger, still, the Order was set on having a wedding. They needed something to look forward to… a ray of hope for a better future. Bill was healing nicely and it looked like he would be spared the effects of lycanthropy.

The relationship between Tonks and Remus was steadily progressing as well, though the werewolf seemed a little apprehensive. Remus' attempt at spying on the werewolves had failed and all he could do now was openly fight with the rest of the Order. Because he was a werewolf, the Ministry refused to accept him as an Auror, even though they were allowing many people to join in a quick training course. The fact was that they needed more men. Desperately so. The numbers of casualties among Aurors were reaching frightening heights…

It was possible that the Ministry wasn't being as careful with its new recruits as it should be, but there was nothing that could be done to change that – just like there was little hope of making them realise that not all magical creatures were dark.

Suddenly the kitchen door was wrenched open and a young woman clad in the navy blue robes that were part of the Auror uniform burst inside.

Elizabeth Hayes – a relatively new addition to the Order of the Phoenix since Dumbledore had only recruited her ten months before his death – was a tall young woman. She was the same age as Tonks and had long blonde hair, which was usually tightly braided around her head, so that it wouldn't get in the way. She had serious, wise, greenish-grey eyes framed by thick, dark eyelashes. Above them, nearly black eyebrows formed two elegant arches on her high forehead. She was definitely an attractive woman, very much so.

"Thank Merlin you're here! There's been a huge magical explosion somewhere in Scotland. Gear up, Moody wants as many people from the Order there as possible." She said breathlessly.

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Tonks and Elizabeth entered the room cautiously, not sure what they would find inside. Tonks' hair was the same light blonde colour it had been for nearly a week. Somehow the Metamorphagus had lost interest in changing her appearance every chance she got. It was actually viewed as an improvement by many, Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt in particular. 

The werewolf reluctantly followed the younger women and drew in a sharp breath at the sight that greeted him.

The room was lit only by the fire burning in the fireplace, hardly reaching the centre of the floor with its red glow and leaving the corners in dark, ominous shadows. A large window allowed for the silvery light of the moon to flow easily over the floor until the light encountered and climbed upon the bed that was one of the very few items in the medium-sized room. The bed was covered with white sheets and amongst the folds of material distinguishable was the shape of a tall, thin man. His face was ghastly pale, as white as the sheets. The snowy covers were drawn all the way to the man's chin. Inky black curls of long hair clashed dramatically with the pillow they were spilled on.

The three stepped closer, studying the man. He looked like a ghost.

"Is he dead?" Tonks asked softly, voicing what her companions were also thinking.

The man's long, thick eyelashes rested against his pale cheeks, casting an eerie shadow over his pronounced cheekbones. Elegant, ebony eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, or perhaps in pain. The face was gaunt, the pale skin stretched painfully over the bones. The stranger's nose was long and regular. Below it fine lips were pressed tightly into a thin line. Blood seemed to have drained from them as well as from the rest of the ghostly face.

Only upon a closer study and when their eyes had become more adjusted to the dim light did the intruders see signs of life.

Beads of sweat were forming on the pale man's high forehead and his nostrils flared as he took fevered breaths of air. Eyes rolled madly behind pearly eyelids. Long-fingered, bony hands clenched into fists and pulled at the covers.

Suddenly, catching the people watching him off guard, the man rolled his head to the side and his lips parted in a panicked gasp. He started thrashing madly on the bed, caught up in some nightmare.

"No, don't! Get away from me!" He cried out in fear. His movements became more violent and, if it hadn't been for Mad-Eye's quick reflexes, he would have fallen off the bed. The group of intruders had barely enough time to be surprised that they hadn't noticed Moody upon entering. They should have known better than to think he wouldn't stand vigil at their _prisoner's _side, even if the man was unconscious.

The older wizard caught the frightfully thin man in his arms, using all his strength to hold down the writhing form beneath him. He managed to pin the younger wizard to the bed, but the result was not what he'd hoped for.

"NO! Don't touch me! Get your hands off me!" The man shouted desperately, obviously still caught up in his own nightmare and entirely unaware of his surroundings. When Alastor pinned him down, he went wild and Moody couldn't hold him down. An elbow hit the Auror's crooked nose and it started bleeding. The old wizard completely ignored the injury, continuously fighting to hold the young man still. Remus and Tonks jumped to his aid and Elizabeth followed their example. Together they held the man down. It seemed impossible for someone so thin and weakened to have such strength.

A bright light erupted around them and everything started spinning. The Order members found themselves plummeting down. Down and down they fell, spinning out of control, a hurricane howling around them… until everything went quiet, everything went still.

Remus opened his eyes cautiously, feeling nauseous. Tonks was peering at him from between the fingers of her hands with which she'd covered her face. The sight of the other seemed to calm them somewhat because they started checking their surroundings. Warily, they moved closer together. They seemed to be on a train. Not just any train it seemed. It looked like they were aboard the Hogwarts' Express.

A gnarled hand clamped heavily on Remus' shoulder and the werewolf jumped. He spun around and came face to face with none other than Alastor Moody.

"A-Alastor! You-you scared me!" He gasped. He lifted a hand to his chest where his heart was trying to break free of the ribs caging it.

"Where are we?" Elizabeth asked stepping from behind Mad-Eye's back.

"I'm afraid I don't know. Our mystery prisoner has a high fever and… but no, it's impossible. He couldn't possibly be **that** powerful."

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking Sir, then let me remind you that this man **_did_** in fact destroy one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. If he is as powerful as that, then I believe we may be in some serious trouble." Elizabeth, ever the professional Auror, continuously used Alastor's title or called him Sir rather than just Moody or Alastor as the other members of the Order did. Although the man was their superior now that he'd been called back to active duty, Kingsley and Tonks didn't usually bother with formalities unless they were on duty and there were other Aurors or Ministry officials about.

"We only know for a fact that he'd been there when the explosion occurred, Miss Hayes." Moody growled. "For all we know he could have been **protecting** his master's Horcrux, not trying to **destroy** it – he **_does_** have the **_Dark Mark_** on his forearm."

"He's suffering a severe case of magic depletion, one that's almost critical. I'd say he's our guy. He's probably the one who's been slipping us those helpful notes too, Sir." Elizabeth said with growing conviction. "That he's survived that explosion with all the injuries he'd sustained and magic depletion on top of it is proof enough that he probably** _is_ **powerful enough, and what else **_could_** have happened to us?"

"What are you talking about?" Tonks interrupted.

Moody released a deep breath and for a brief moment closed his good eye.

"Our mystery man has a high fever. In such a vulnerable state he is prone to very vivid nightmares and visions just like we've just experienced and, as he seems to be a powerful wizard, it is possible for those who come in contact with him to be drawn into his mindscape."

"So… What now?" Tonks persisted. "We aren't trapped here, are we?" She asked in a voice that was higher than usual. She'd read about this sort of thing, but she'd never actually witnessed it.

"For now, I'm afraid we are." Alastor said after a long pause. "Don't worry. It will not take long. If he is as powerful a wizard as we suspect then he will regain control of his magic soon enough." Moody encouraged while he himself was cursing himself for his carelessness. _Constant vigilance. _He sneered at himself mentally.

Elizabeth decided it would be best to warn Remus and Nymphadora then and there what they would be facing in the meantime. "Until that happens, however, we will have to witness whatever memories that are in any way significant to him. We are already inside his mind so no Occlumency skills can hide the memories that he'd want hidden at other times."

"As a matter of fact, as I have no doubt that our Death Eater is an Occlumens, memories that are usually occluded are what we're most likely to see. This could actually be interesting." Moody smirked. "Just the insight into a Death Eater's mind that we need right now, if we want to win against Voldemort."

**_A tall but slender boy of no more than eleven walked along the empty corridor of the moving train, dragging a heavy trunk behind him. He had black, shoulder-length hair that spiralled around his pale face. He had a black eye and a cut lip but, other than that, he looked cute. He had the most extraordinary pair of unfathomable, black eyes._**

"Snape." Remus said and stared at the boy. He wasn't the only one who was incredulous. Tonks, Moody and Elizabeth blanched at his words. They stared at Remus in shock. _Snape?_ The man they'd collected from the area of the explosion had looked **_nothing _**like the Snape they knew. Although Elizabeth was surprised that the mysterious destroyer of the Horcrux was actually the most wanted man from Voldemort's ranks, she didn't share the others' shock at seeing the man as a small, innocent child. She'd never known the man in person after all – only what she'd seen of him in newspapers. Obviously the pictures of him must have been inaccurate or he must have drunk a potion that had changed his features.

A child at this age was really no indication of what a person would look like when they reached adulthood, still, this boy Snape looked more like the man in the bed back at Grimmauld Place than the adult Snape's newspaper images. Another mystery. Perhaps Moody had been right and this opportunity could prove to be at least a little eye-opening… even if Elizabeth did earnestly believe that what was happening couldn't be termed as anything short of mind-rape.

**_Clad in faded black trousers and a light blue T-shirt he made his slow progress peering through the windows of already full compartments. At long last, at the back of the train, he found an empty compartment all to himself. A large grin appeared on his face. _**

_**The black-haired boy outstretched his hand and his trunk was floated into the corner of the compartment. Another wave and flick of the ivory fingers and the trunk's many locks came open. The boy's grin widened, if that was even possible. He quickly rummaged within the trunk and pulled out a wand and a piece of parchment.**_

_**He held the parchment in one hand and waved his wand over it with the other.**_

"**_Speculum Facit!" For a first year student transfiguring a piece of parchment into a mirror was a noteworthy achievement. It was actually a quite attractive mirror too: with a golden frame with leaves engraved into it. _**

**_The boy examined his reflection and grimaced. With careful fingers he touched his blackened eye and hissed when he came in contact with a tenderer spot. It was at that exact moment that a red-haired girl noiselessly opened the door to the compartment. She saw the boy gazing into the mirror, but her vision of his face was obscured._**

"**_Well, well, well, if it isn't Narcissus himself!" She called out from the entry to get the boy's attention. His reaction was instantaneous. He whirled around, getting to his feet and clenching his wand firmly in his right hand. Unfortunately his shoelaces got in the way and he tripped. The mirror he'd been holding broke with the impact of hitting the floor and a shard imbedded itself in the boy's palm. Dark eyes closed against the pain and a hiss managed to escape between clenched teeth._**

**_The first year girl in the entrance rushed into the compartment and kneeled at the injured boy's side. _**

"**_Oh I'm so sorry!" She helped him into a sitting position although he tried to protest. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm really sorry." She apologised as the dark-haired first-year moved away from her and lowered his head. His raven hair hid most of his face from her but she could still see his injured hand. She winced at the sight of his bloody palm and the piece of mirror still protruding from it. "Do you want me to call someone? I could…" She was already getting up when the boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the floor._**

"**_No." He said sharply. He lifted his head to look at the girl and managed to do so between locks of his curly hair. Noting the surprise and sincere concern in her emerald green eyes, he let go of her wrist and explained. "I'm okay. You don't have to get anyone." To prove his point, the boy pulled the glass out of the wound, suppressing a hiss. Blood poured out from the wound but the boy pulled out an old, grey shirt from his trunk and wrapped it around his hand. He tried to tie the material more securely but he was having trouble doing it with only one good hand. Seeing this, the red-haired girl offered her assistance. Again, he tried to protest. She ignored his feeble attempts. _**

"_**There." She said as she finished. "You still need to see someone about that cut, though." **_

"**_I'm fine on my own." He told her haughtily, turning his back on her, then he started rummaging in his trunk. _**

"**_You most certainly aren't fine!" The girl snapped angrily. She stood up and looked down at him. She was just opening her mouth when she took notice of an array of small bottles he was examining. "What are those?" She asked curiously, deflating a bit._**

"**_Potions." The boy pulled out a small bottle of a dark blue potion. "This one is for healing wounds. It's almost instantaneous." He told the redhead proudly. "I made these myself." _**

**_He took out a small phial from the trunk. He tried to open it but failed and was just about to try uncorking it with his teeth when he looked up at the girl standing over him. _**

"_**Would you mind opening this?" He asked shyly. Most of his face was still obscured by his hair but the girl managed to make out his dark eyes and she thought she saw a small smile.**_

"_**Sure." She took the proffered phial and easily uncorked it before handing it back. "What does it do?"**_

"**_This healing potion is very effective but it has a very short shelf life once it's completed. That's why I came up with this. Instead of completing the potion, I've made another one that can be added to it when it becomes this dark blue colour. In this form it can be safely shelved for a long time. When the contents of this bottle are combined with those of this phial the effect will be the same as it would have been had the final stages for making the healing potion been performed." He handed her the bottle to open and then poured the yellow contents of the phial into the bottle. The mixture turned green._**

"**_It still could be just a trick." The redhead eyed the now green potion sceptically. "The same thing happens when you add blue paint to yellow. That doesn't mean they have healing properties." _**

_**If her dark-haired companion took offence at this, he didn't show it.**_

"**_Well, watch and learn." He said confidently as he pulled the grey shirt off his hand. Blood was still flowing from the wound. It had to be quite deep. He threw the bloodstained shirt away before slowly pouring a bit of the green potion onto his palm. The bleeding stopped immediately and the pair sat in silence staring at the boy's pale hand in fascination as the cut on his hand began to disappear. "Evanesco." The boy whispered, pointing the wand he'd retrieved from the floor at the blood staining his clothes and his hand. There was no mark left where the wound had been._**

_**Dark eyes lifted to meet a pair of awed green ones. **_

"**_That was amazing!" The red-haired girl whispered with admiration. "You really made this potion? And you actually improved it? Wow! You have to be the smartest kid I've ever met!" The questions and compliments flowed from her mouth, making her companion flush a deep red colour. _**

**_The girl paused as she noticed the pink tinge his skin even on his exposed hands and arms suddenly took. She grinned at him and moved to pull some hair out of his eyes to finally see his face. The same face she'd seen him inspecting in that fateful, broken mirror. The boy flinched at her touch and moved away, but not before she saw the black eye he was sporting and the split lip. Again she had to wince at the sight._**

"_**Do you have a potion for that too?" She asked after an awkward silence. The boy seemed genuinely surprised at her concern for him. He nodded mutely, staring at her through a curtain of black hair. **_

**_After another moment of silence he waved his wand at the shards from the mirror and whispered a spell._**

"_**Reparo." He picked up the mirror, which was now as good as new, and pulled all the hair out of his face. He studied his reflection for a moment before administering the green healing potion to his lip. **_

**_Turning to his trunk, the boy pulled out a healing salve. He started rubbing it into his skin below his eye. An errand lock of hair fell in his face and as he tried moving it away he smudged the salve across his entire cheek. Two smaller hands reached up. One brushed away the strand of hair while the other took some of the salve from his cheek and carefully spread it on the bruise around his eye. The boy wanted to stop her but after looking into the girl's eyes decided to let her have her way. She wasn't going to hurt him – he instinctively knew he was safe with her. He closed his eyes and concentrated solely on keeping himself from hissing with pain._**

"**_There. That does it." He heard a soft, kind voice whisper near him. The boy opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the redhead. She was smiling at him warmly and the dark-haired boy smiled back. _**

"_**Thanks. At least now you saw for yourself that I am not Narcissus and that I had other uses for that mirror." **_

_**The girl blushed.**_

"_**Sorry about that." **_

"**_No harm done." He assured her with a grin. He looked around and his gaze fell on the trunk standing in the entrance to his compartment. "So, don't tell me you haven't got a place to stay for the ride?" _**

**_She looked at her trunk and then back at the other first-year hopefully._**

"_**No, I don't. Would you mind if I stayed here?" She asked uncertainly.**_

"**_What? Mind? Of course not!" He said enthusiastically. His tone of voice surprised even him as he wasn't usually so openly cheerful and he didn't generally get along that well with people he'd just met. "Oh I'll get it! What kind of a gentleman would I be if let you carry that thing any farther than you already have?" He flashed her a bright smile as he stopped her from going for her trunk. At first he wanted to show off his wandless magic but thought better of it. He walked over and picked up her luggage._**

"_**I'm Lily Evans, by the way." The girl told him once he'd taken care of her trunk. She was amused to see the boy flush in embarrassment.**_

"**_I'm sorry about that. I should have introduced myself ages ago. That was terribly rude of me. I'm Severus Snape. I hope you can excuse my manners." _**

**_Lily outstretched her hand but instead of shaking it, Severus kissed her hand. Lily giggled and blushed furiously._**

"_**What?" Severus asked in surprise.**_

"**_Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen anyone your age kissing a girl's hand in greeting before." She laughed. Severus looked scandalised._**

"**_But that's the proper way for a man to greet any woman – no matter what age they are. Mother taught me that."_**

"_**Not in my world, at least not anymore." **_

"**_You're a Muggle-born?"_**

"_**A what?"**_

"**_A Muggle-born. You have non-magical parents – Muggles. That explains a lot. Like how easily you were impressed with my potions or that you don't know what pure-blood upbringing is like." Severus told her._**

"**_Is that a bad thing? What are pure-bloods?" Lily asked curiously, but there was also a trace of worry and nervousness in her voice. Severus smiled at her._**

"**_No, I don't think being a Muggle-born is a bad thing. Why should it be? Though some wizards think so, which I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Old, pure-blood families like the Malfoys, the Lestranges or the Blacks. I'm a half-blood myself but they don't have any Muggle blood in their lines, or at least it's their most guarded secret if it ever got mixed somewhere along their lines. You'd best steer clear of that shady lot, Lily. They could hurt you."_**

"**_Hurt me? But why?" The girl was slightly overwhelmed and frightened by what he was telling her. Severus immediately noticed this and put an arm around her slender shoulders._**

"**_Don't worry, Lily. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise! And they're just stupid, arrogant jerks. My family, well, half of it at least, is pure-blooded, but I don't go spouting anti-Muggle propaganda." Severus smiled reassuringly at the girl. She looked up and met his eyes trustingly._**

"_**How much do you know about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World? Do you want me to tell you about it?" Severus asked kindly.**_

"**_Maybe later." Lily was still reeling with the shock after what this boy had just told her. Albus Dumbledore hadn't warned her parents that she might be hurt by some _**pure-bloods

"**_Come on, Lily, cheer up. I give you my word of honour as a half-blood Prince and as a Snape that I will not let any harm befall you at Hogwarts! I swear it on my life!" He told the redhead in earnest, forcing her to look deep into his dark eyes. "Friends?" He then asked, extending his hand._**

"_**Friends!" She said solemnly as she took hold of his hand. They held onto each other's hands for a long moment and their eyes never strayed from the other. They were grinning broadly. They'd both found friends and they just knew that their friendship had to last. **_

**_Her happiness running away with her, Lily threw her arms around Severus' neck and hugged him. Severus was shocked at first but soon found himself returning Lily's embrace with as much fervour. When the two new friends finally broke apart, Severus decided there was nothing like a secret to strengthen a new bond of friendship. He cast a protection charm on the door to their compartment while Lily followed the movements of his wand with obvious admiration. _**

"_**I will show you something, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, okay? I don't want you to tell anyone about those potions either, alright?"**_

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Yes what?" Severus pressed.**_

"_**Yes to both! I promise I won't tell anyone!" Lily replied solemnly.**_

"**_Good, well watch this." With that, Severus started changing the colour of his hair. At first it was blond and brown, but soon he switched to colours such as blue, red and green. Lily observed him open-mouthed and laughed out loud when he made his hair long and pink. She was laughing so hard when the pink locks tied themselves into two ponytails that she fell from her seat and rolled on the floor, still, she couldn't stop laughing. Severus joined in as he picked up his mirror and saw his reflection. He then moved on to other parts of his face and body, making his nose large and hooked, his eyes small and red, his arms long like an ape's. _**

**_Their wild guffaws stopped only when someone knocked on their compartment door. Immediately Severus changed back to his normal self and removed the charm from the door. It was the witch with the trolley selling all kinds of sweats and drinks. Since Lily had never tried any of the wizard candy, it was up to Severus to buy a bit of everything. _**

"_**Can you teach me how to change my appearance like that?" Lily asked after the witch had left. **_

"**_No, I'm afraid I can't." Lily's face fell and her new friend hurried to explain. "I was born like this. Not every wizard can do what I can. It's a gift, that's why I don't want you to tell anyone. They'd just make fun of me and I don't need that."_**

"**_And this gift of yours – what is it called? Does it have a name?"_**

"**_I'm a Metamorphagus. That's the name we use, but don't call me that, because everyone will immediately know what I am."_**

"**_I already promised I wouldn't tell anyone, Severus." She smiled at him reassuringly. _**

**_They sat together with the pile of sweats between them and bottles of Butterbeer in hand. Eating through the pile of food and drinking, they started talking about virtually everything a pair of bright eleven-year-olds might find interesting. They talked about the Wizarding World, the Muggle World, about Hogwarts, school subjects or they just fooled around._**

_**They arrived at Hogwarts all too soon. **_

The memory ended there, leaving the four people stranded somewhere.

"Snape's a Metamorphagus!" Tonks exclaimed, unable to get over her shock.

"I never knew about that!" Remus was just as shocked. At least that explained why the man on the bed hadn't looked much like the Potions Master they both knew.

"Well, that memory didn't seem so bad, barring that mirror incident." Tonks said, trying to break the eerie silence that surrounded them.

"And those bruises he had from the beginning." Lupin added. "It certainly wasn't the reason why he was crying out and thrashing around back at Headquarters."

"Were they really friends?" Tonks inquired of no-one in particular. The absurdity of the idea… She just couldn't wrap her mind around that. _Their friendship must have ended the moment Snape got Sorted and became a Slytherin._

"Lily and Snape? Yes, I guess they were almost inseparable at the beginning, until they started going out together in our fourth year. That's when you really could hardly ever see one without the other." Remus explained with a frown. Somehow he'd forgotten all about that. _Wouldn't Harry have liked to know? _He thought to himself with a nagging feeling of guilt.

"What happened then? Why didn't they stay together?" Tonks asked curiously. She'd never have imagined Snape being in love and having a girlfriend, but then again, what she'd just seen of the sweet, amusing little boy from Snape's memories contradicted everything she thought she knew about the man.

"I don't know. I was hardly in a position where either of them would confide in me. All I know is that they seemed to break up at the beginning of our fifth year. Lily was utterly miserable for quite a while after that and Snape, well Snape was his usual annoying self." As he said this, Remus felt guilt press heavily on him. "I guess that's not entirely true." Remus swallowed. Those memories weren't ones he liked relieving. They made Snape appear not only human, but actually a good person and he didn't want to think of him as such. Not after Albus' death. "It was strange, actually. One minute they're together and the next thing people know is that Snape ran off with Malfoy only a week before the term ended. When Snape came back after that summer he was… well, he was different, I guess. More vicious and hateful. Although I can't say he was ever nice to me or the other Marauders, initially he'd seemed like a fairly okay guy… for a Slytherin."

Suddenly they found themselves pulled into a deep, dark vortex. There was nothing they could do to stop what was going on around them so they just closed their eyes to block out the visions that swam before their eyes with a dizzying intensity.

"**_Snape, Severus." Minerva McGonagall called out and a first year boy walked to the front of the teachers' table and sat down on the three-legged stool. The Deputy Headmistress placed the old, battered Sorting Hat on the boy's dark head, effectively hiding his face, as the Hat was way too big to fit Severus, despite the thick locks of his hair._**

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**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! ;) **


	2. Sorting a Slytherin

**Disclaimer: Look to the first chapter.**

**A/N**

**Updating took me a little longer than I thought it would, but I got there at last. ;) Hopefully I'll get some feedback after this second chapter and then I'll have something to keep me going. However, I do plan on updating soon, even if I don't get any reviews or get a stack of Howlers ;) I've got the rest of the story mapped out and some of the chapters are written and only require some editing prior to posting them…**

**Enough talk for now ;) I would really, really appreciate some feedback! ;)**

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**Chapter II**

**Sorting a Slytherin**

"_**Snape, Severus." Minerva McGonagall called out and a first year boy walked to the front of the teachers' table and sat down on the three-legged stool. The Deputy Headmistress placed the old, battered Sorting Hat on the boy's dark head, effectively hiding his face, as the Hat was way too big to fit Severus, despite the thick locks of his hair.**_

"_Hello there. Another Prince, or at least part Prince. It's about time, too. I was wondering whether Eileen and Samuel were planning to continue your line or not." **The Sorting Hat spoke in the boy's ear cheerfully.**_

"_**Uncle Samuel won't be continuing **his** line and I am a Snape, not a Prince." Severus told the Hat nervously. "As a half-blood I'm hardly the right material for an heir of a pure-blood family with a long and illustrious history." He didn't know what he was supposed to say, but he couldn't keep the bitterness and sarcasm out of his voice.**_

"_It's all up to you, young Severus. There's no need to be nervous, we'll get down to business soon enough. It's just that I like to keep track of the old families and I only get a chance to talk with someone during the Sorting."_

"**_I think I know how you feel. I don't have much company at home either." Severus smiled slightly, but it was a sad smile._**

"_Ah yes, Samuel was never overly pleasant." **Severus snorted at this. **"Yes, I guess it is an understatement, especially from what I see in your memories. I'm very sorry about your father; he must have been a good man for your mother to have loved him so. I am very sorry about Eileen as well. I understand that she is ill?"_

"_**Yes, she is." Severus' tone was polite but it had an air of finality to it, obviously the child didn't want to talk about his mother's condition.**_

"_You are a brave lad and a smart one too. I should either place you in Gryffindor or in Ravenclaw."_

_**For a moment Severus felt a surge of pride but it was gone almost immediately and he paled.**_

"**_Slytherin. I have to be in Slytherin."_**

"_Why, Severus? Don't you want to be in the same house as that delightful friend of yours – Lily Evans? While in Ravenclaw you would undoubtedly do very well, in Gryffindor you could realise your full potential. You could be great."_

"**_I'd give anything to be in Gryffindor with Lily, but I can't. Not while my Mother is sick and only getting worse." Severus sighed. "I don't have to explain, do I? You see my thoughts and memories anyway, don't you?" Severus' voice echoed in his mind as a soft whisper. "We have nowhere to go and Uncle Samuel would see it as a disgrace to the family name if I were to be in Gryffindor. I have to be in Slytherin. He'll be happy that way and Mother will be taken care of while I'm at school. She doesn't even have access to her own vault at Gringott's anymore. We are entirely dependant on Uncle Samuel for everything. I'm grateful that I actually made it to Hogwarts. If he_ _had and heir of his own he would have killed me and my mother without second thought. I have to do everything I can to please him… for now at least. When I'm of age I'm going to take everything that is mine away from my uncle and leave him to his own pure-blood devices."_**

"_You won't be happy in Slytherin, Severus. You don't think much of pure-bloods, do you?"_

"**_I don't think much of those fanatical ones, those like the Malfoys, Lestranges, Blacks or Uncle Samuel. Their idiotic prejudice and arrogant behaviour – they act like they own the whole world!"_**

"_Ah, but aren't you the one who's prejudiced now? Sirius Black is nothing like the rest of his family."_

"**_He's as arrogant as any of them, although I suppose Meda is different. But I've met Sirius, you know and he's a stuck-up, egotistic jerk." Severus said bitterly._**

"_Yes, that is true, but he has a good heart down there. You could be friends, if you were in Gryffindor. As a Slytherin, Sirius and many others will automatically shun you, especially since you're part of a pure-blood family from a long line of Slytherins. You may not be aware of this, but here at Hogwarts your fellow students, especially those of pure-blood lineage and half-bloods, are bound to view you as a Prince – a young lord, who is to inherit the Prince fortune, not as a half-blood, not as a Snape. If you stand by your decision to be in Slytherin, know that you would do best not to correct them, if you want to be a part of that house and be accepted. You will need allies, if not friends, to survive in Slytherin and you will have to be careful with your choice of them. People from other houses are reluctant to befriend Slytherins because they are afraid to be pulled towards the Dark. If you choose to be a Slytherin, you will have a hard road ahead of you, filled with danger, grave choices and Darkness"_

"**_Are you trying to scare me? I'm not afraid. There is nothing to be gained from it. I'm not afraid of Darkness and I'm sure I know more about it than most of the other students all put together. I'm bound to, having grown up where I did. I won't let myself be pulled in. I don't care about Black or the others. There is no other way." Was Severus' heated reply – such bravery, passion and determination from one so young and, despite everything he'd been through, one that was still innocent as only a child could be. "For myself, I could stay at Hogwarts and then even on the streets if need be, but I can't leave my Mother. Not in my Uncle's hands. Please, could you just sort me into Slytherin and be done with it? Everyone's going to wonder why it's taking so long."_**

"_Relax. To everyone else, what may seem like minutes and hours to you, in reality is no more than a few seconds. Time is of no consequence since it is only in your own mind that we are having this conversation." **The Hat sighed. **"Like I said, you are a brave one... I will put you in Slytherin, if you are certain of your decision." **It said reluctantly.** "But first let me warn you. Most of the choices in your life that you make out of fear of something will be those you'll forever regret. As for fearing Darkness, Severus, it is not always wise not to be afraid when something deserves it. Fear makes people careful and makes them think before doing something."_

"**_I may have some Gryffindor traits but I don't think I'm exactly reckless, Madam Hat." Severus said and then blushed as the Hat snorted in laughter at his form of address. "Do you give advice like this to everyone?" Severus tried to divert its attention._**

"_No, only when it is required, but in your situation, I thought you might need to hear the advice of an adult. I know you lack parental figures in your life."_

"**_An adult?" The humour in the boy's voice was unmistakable. The Hat chuckled._**

"_My but you are cheeky! Maybe you won't be that bad for Slytherin after all. Fine: someone who is older and more experienced than you. Is that better?"_

"**_Much." Severus said brightly. "Do you think I could talk to you some time in the school year? I don't see why you should be isolated for so long."_**

"_That's very kind of you, Severus, but I don't think that will be possible. Does the idea of me giving you some parental advice have some appeal for you?"_

"**_Maybe not that – not that I'm not grateful for what you're doing – but I don't really want to use or take advantage of you. It just doesn't seem fair that you should be locked up and I enjoy talking to you."_**

"_You have a very unique choice in friends, Severus."_

"_**Can I ask you something?"**_

"_You may, though I do not think my answer will satisfy you and we might want to get back to the problem of your sorting. Well, ask away, if you must."_

"**_Can you really foresee the future? Like a Seer?"_**

"_Yes, to a degree, but it's different than the visions of a Seer. I see many roads and the choices that lead to them, but I cannot tell you anything of what I see."_

"_**But you told me that any choice I make that is influenced by my fear of something will be one I will regret. You're not going to answer me anyway, are you, if I ask whether that includes what I'm doing right now?"**_

"_Most of the choices you make. That is what I said, but I will say no more. Now, are you ready to go to your house? Are you certain of your choice?"_

"**_I am. It's not a matter of choice really, even if I will have to pay for it some day."_**

"_Very well then. The best hope for you is to heed my warnings but still stay true to yourself. It was very nice talking to you, Severus."_

"**_Thanks for the advice. It was a pleasure talking to you too." Severus smiled._**

"_SLYTHERIN!" **The Hat called out loudly. The next thing Severus knew, the Hat was lifted off his head and he was greeted by a polite applause from two of the house tables and by loud hoots from the Slytherin table. At the Gryffindor table, only Lily Evans was clapping her hands together for her friend.**_

**_Severus wondered whether she understood the feud between their respective houses and whether she realised that she was risking a lot by her un-Gryffindor-like behaviour. From the way she smiled at him nervously and questioningly, he knew that she must have been filled in by her housemates. Severus grinned at the redhead reassuringly and waved at her while making his way to his own table. Lily waved back, very much relieved, and they were grinning hugely at each other throughout the rest of the Sorting and the Welcoming Feast – much to the dismay of both their houses._**

"Well, that was unexpected." Moody commented. "Who would have thought that Severus Snape – the epitome of the perfect Slytherin – should have actually been placed in Gryffindor?" It could only be a rhetoric question.

"That poor boy." Elizabeth said quietly. "Surely his childhood home couldn't have been so horrible?" Raised in a loving family, Auror Hayes couldn't quite imagine the household that she'd caught glimpses and feelings of while experiencing Snape's memories. The ability to feel the same emotions as the owner of the memories had felt at the time when those events had occurred was something that no Legilimency skills nor Pensive could offer… it was also something that made it impossible to view the unfolding scenes objectively.

"Old Samuel Prince was the main suspect in two murder cases – one was the murder of Tobias Snape." Moody recollected.

"Snape's father?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Yes, a Muggle who'd been fool enough to marry a pure-blood witch and who'd paid the ultimate price for his stupidity."

"And the other murder?" It was Elizabeth who asked this time.

"The other one is officially considered to have been no more than a tragic potions accident. There'd been a small explosion and Eileen Prince – accomplished Potions Mistress, mind you – had been affected by inhaling a highly poisonous gas. If I recall correctly, there'd been an article about it in the Daily Prophet. According to that article, Eileen Prince only survived because her then four-year-old son had had the presence of mind to use the Floo network to call for help. The Prophet stated that the boy had used emotional magic to keep his mother alive until help finally arrived – called by one of the Princes' cousins… I think it was your mother, Andromeda, Tonks. She was only a teenager at the time, but I believe it was her that little Snape had called." Moody's face twisted as he frowned, trying to remember.

"My mother? Surely she's not related to… we can't be related to Snape!" Tonks refused to accept this.

"The Blacks are known to have had family ties with the Prince family. Eileen was a Prince, even if she had married a Muggle and had brought shame to her family by bearing a half-blood child." Moody said. "If anything, Eileen and Andromeda may have had something in common even then – their views to start with. They may have been closer than the rest of their families. I doubt it was an accident that, out of all the members of all the British pure-blood families – most of which are related to each other – Snape chose Andromeda Black when he was scared and panicked. You ought to ask Andromeda about it, Tonks."

"The pair of them did make the same choice of forsaking their families in the name of love." Elizabeth concluded, knowing her friend's family history.

"So, how does Samuel Prince fit into this **_accident_**? Nothing was proved, I take it?" Remus questioned Mad-Eye since the man was the only one who seemed to know anything of importance about the case.

"No, he was a rich pure-blood after all – a clever and a sly one too." Moody growled in disgust. "The only reason Eileen hadn't died in the following years is because Prince must have changed his plans, not because of any effort that the Ministry of Magic had made to solve the case."

"He probably decided he could use her as leverage over his nephew. Snape said that Samuel had no heir of his own." Said Elizabeth. "A half-blood had to seem better to him than having no one to inherit the property and pass on the titles. Only he needed to control Severus and raise him properly, if he were to fill that role – something that could have been accomplished much easier by keeping the child's mother alive. She didn't fully recover after inhaling that poison, did she Sir? That's why you said it was a murder case."

"Snape said his mother was sick and that her condition was deteriorating. Was her illness connected with that accident?"

"She never did recover. I think she died from the poisoning a few years later, I could be wrong though. If the poison was slow-acting then Snape would have been aware of her condition." Alastor answered Hayes' and Lupin's question.

"It's horrid!" Tonks said suddenly. She'd been uncharacteristically silent for quite some time. "Snape's uncle had most likely been responsible for the death of his father and had tried to kill his mother, who was his own sister, and then only kept her alive to manipulate Snape! And it sure did work! Why, just look at which house it landed him!"

"You're right Tonks, but don't you think that it's even worse that an eleven-year-old had been fully aware that his uncle only kept him and his mother alive because they suited his plans? Because he did know it." Elizabeth told her friend.

**_Severus got introduced to quite a group of Slytherins – first-years and older – most of which he'd already met at one formal function or another. The boy had never met anyone he'd liked among those people – how could he like anyone his uncle approved of? – so he was polite and proper, definitely not friendly, as the memory of his talk with the Sorting Hat was still alive in his memory._**

_**Snape caught a glimpse of a blond boy whom he immediately recognised as a Malfoy. The silver-haired boy was so much like his father there could be no mistaking his parentage and Severus' first impulse was to throw a hex at the back of the blond head that was now turned away from him. During one of the 'formal functions' he'd been forced to attend with his uncle, Snape had heard the older Malfoy making opinions and speaking of things that had made Severus' skin crawl then and that caused him to shiver even now.**_

**_Malfoy Senior had gone on and on about blood purity and how anyone who didn't have pure blood should be slaughtered, or at least reduced to doing hard labour even worse than what house-elves were forced to do. The Malfoy lord had also said how proud he was of his son, who would follow in his footsteps and step onto the path towards bringing peace and order to the wizarding world…_**

_**Severus turned his back on Malfoy. He was glad that the other boy, who was a year older than him and whom he'd never met, was far enough from him that he had no obligation to seek him out to introduce himself.**_

_**The black-haired boy lifted his gaze from where it had fallen to the empty plate before him and found Lily's friendly face at the Gryffindor table. He let a wave of regret wash over him as he saw her engaged in a friendly and lively conversation with a group of her housemates… if only Severus could be sitting at that table, taking part in that conversation, **being part of that**…**_

**_Lily Evans looked up and immediately her emerald eyes locked with an onyx pair at the Slytherin table. The redhead blushed slightly at being watched but then she just smiled warmly at Severus. Her sincere gesture made Severus' heart lighter and he smiled back before returning his eyes to his own table just in time to notice the delicious food that appeared in front of him._**

**_After the Feast, Severus ran over to Lily before they all had to go to their own common rooms for meetings with their Heads of House._**

"**_How do you like it so far, Lily?" Severus asked the moment he got to her. By the expression on her face and by the way her eyes kept straying to the charmed ceiling of the Great Hall, he knew she was awed by the castle. She already had been when they'd first seen it from their boat, but now she was ecstatic to have been admitted to this extraordinary school and into this fascinating new world._**

"_**I love it! It's unbelievable, really!" She told him once she managed to find words. Severus just grinned at her, happy to see her happy. His own mood was by far darker than hers, but he wasn't going to indulge the worry and the doubts that his talk with the Sorting Hat had awoken in him.**_

**_They said their goodbyes and followed their respective Prefects._**

**_Severus was lagging behind, trying to remember every detail of the maze that the dungeons created. He'd be damned if he lost his way here! Ever!_**

_**Most of the older Slytherins were already inside the common room when the fifth-year Prefect paused before the entrance and gave the first-years the password. The kids went inside and Severus was just about to follow the last one in when someone blocked his way. Snape's eyes travelled upwards until above the pitch black darkness of Hogwarts' robes, he made out the face of a very tall, very muscular Slytherin. He was wearing a Prefect's badge.**_

"**_Prince, is it?" He barked at the younger boy._**

_**Severus sighed inwardly. **Here we go. It looks like the Hat was right and I am a Prince after all… I wonder what Uncle Samuel would say to that? **At least that was a cheery thought. Snape's uncle had put a lot of effort into explaining to young Severus how he was unworthy of the Prince blood that flowed in his veins, he'd literally pounded it into the boy's head on several occasions.**_

"**_Yes." Severus answered calmly, narrowing his eyes. He would not be intimidated by the older boy merely because he was so much bigger than him and had the power of authority over him. "Severus Prince. What's your name?" He asked conversationally, a spark in his ebony eyes._**

_**The Prefect's eyes widened slightly upon hearing Severus' words and he looked at his friends. Only then did Severus notice the group of fifth-year boys standing in the shadows. **Is this what the Hat had meant about needing allies in Slytherin?_

"**_My name is Ludovic Zabini, but to _you**_, Prince,** I am a **Prefect**." The older boy answered maliciously. "It has come to my attention that you are friends with not only a Gryffindor, but a Mudblood. You are a Slytherin and as you seem to be unaware of this, it is my duty to inform you that such ties are unacceptable! You will have no more contact with that Mudblood girl! Did I make myself clear?" He was now leaning over Severus' small frame in what was a very intimidating manner.**_

"**_Crystal." Severus purred. The fact that his voice was only falsely sweet and agreeable seemed to be entirely lost on the Prefect since Zabini straightened himself and his lips formed a self-satisfied smirk. "However, I believe that Muggle-born would be the correct term to use. That is what appears in the dictionary." Severus added when the Prefect had taken a step away from him._**

"**_What did you just say?" Zabini spat. In an instant he was so close to the first-year boy that their noses almost met._**

"**_I said that the term Muggle-born is more appropriate to use in regard to a fellow human being and student of the same school, Zabini." Severus said without hesitation. He knew all about Zabini's family from his uncle and he wouldn't have thought he'd be one to behave like this. He should have known better._**

"**_I am your Prefect and you will show me respect and refer to me accordingly!" Zabini snapped angrily. "Now, I am warning you, Prince, you are a Slytherin and you will behave as befits all members of this noble house! You will not mingle with students of other houses, Mudbloods or half-bloods!" The Prefect threatened._**

_**Severus eyed the fifth-year calmly for a moment. **A half-blood being threatened by a half-blood about having ties with half-bloods! How interesting…_

"**_Is that so? I find it interesting that someone whose family is famous for its poverty and shamed by its not-so-illustrious history should be giving me these warnings. I am the heir of the Prince family, a lord. I will keep company with whom I choose. Now, if you'd excuse me, I would hate to miss the speech of my Head of House. Would you be so kind as to step away from the entrance, _**Prefect_**." Severus sneered at him. Even though he was looking up at Zabini, he gave the impression of looking down his nose at the older boy. **Uncle Samuel would be proud. **Snape thought with distaste.**_

_**Ludovic Zabini stood stock still in shock for a moment and Snape had to walk around him. Two boys from the group that had been standing in the shadows were standing directly behind their Prefect, creating an impenetrable wall in front of the entrance. Severus merely raised an imperious eyebrow at the bulky pair and they stepped aside. Severus strode past them without a second glance after mumbling a dignified and very gracious 'Thank you'.**_

_**Zabini broke out of his stupor only to find Lucius Malfoy leaning against the dungeon wall, smirking at him.**_

"_**What are you smirking at, **lord** Malfoy?" The Prefect sneered at him.**_

**_Lucius haughtily raised both eyebrows and schooled his features into an innocent, incredulous look._**

"**_Me? Nothing." He said innocently, with a polite smile gracing his lips. "I do wish to get into our common room though."_**

_**Zabini glared at the younger boy with loathing before stepping aside, ignoring Malfoy's victorious smirk.**_

"**_Thank you, _**Prefect**_." Malfoy said loudly as he passed the fifth-year. Obviously he didn't want the other to doubt that he'd witnessed the whole scene with the young, black-haired first-year._**

"_**Hello there. I'm Lucius Malfoy and I'm a second-year." Lucius approached Severus the moment he entered the Slytherin common room. The younger boy was standing close to the entrance and must have heard what had happened between Malfoy and Zabini.**_

"**_Severus Snape, first-year." Severus introduced himself mechanically, not really interested in making the Malfoy heir's acquaintance. Nonetheless, Snape accepted the outstretched hand and shook it._**

"**_I thought your surname was supposed to be Prince?" Lucius asked conversationally, amusement lacing his voice for some reason._**

"**_Apparently." Either the bored, irritated tone was lost on Malfoy, or the boy chose to ignore it, because he continued._**

"**_Anyway, Professor Slughorn should be here any minute now. He's a tolerable Head of House and a passable Potions Master, even if his company leaves a lot to be desired. He never takes house points from his Slytherins, or at least not when he can help it. He never gives us punishments in public, either. That's the cardinal rule in Slytherin: What happens in the Den, stays in the Den. We have our own system of punishments and no-one besides us Slytherins is to know about it. Transgressions of fellow Slytherins have to be kept secret from the other three houses – be it teachers or students."_**

_**Severus listened to Malfoy prattle along in a voice of self-importance that **really **grated on the younger boy's nerves.**_

**_Severus strongly doubted that their Head of House would so openly speak of the rules garnering Slytherin. However, it was obvious that Snape would be expected to play at least by some of them unless he wanted to get into serious trouble with his housemates. His uncle had never bothered to speak with his nephew and tell him what exactly it was that he was expecting of him._**

**_On the other hand, hadn't the Hat told him to stay true to himself? He wasn't going to break up his friendship with Lily, even if it meant acting against the rules of his house. Now it all came down to the Prefect he'd just antagonised and how much support the other Slytherins would give him._**

"**_You know, Severus, I think you should have been in Gryffindor, not Slytherin – Prince or not." Lucius whispered close to Severus' ear after a long and thorough scrutiny._**

"_**Huh?" Severus cursed himself for his inarticulate reply, but the other boy had caught him off-guard since he'd zoned out a bit half-way into Malfoy's speech. "I don't see how that should be any of your business, **lord Malfoy**. I am a Prince and a Slytherin and that is all there is to it."**_

"**_I never asked you to call me by my title. We are equals and that is why I believe we should stick together. Moreover, we are distantly related – we are cousins. Unless, of course, it is not your desire to stay true to your family's expectations of you and instead you wish to distance yourself from the ties your line has."_**

_**Severus was slightly bewildered by young Malfoy's manner. He'd expected him to act more in Zabini's likeness. It certainly couldn't hurt to have a Malfoy on his side. But why would the older boy be so determined to have a good relationship with Severus? Why would he go so far as to mention their blood relation? Snape decided to be wary of Lucius. The Malfoy lord wouldn't take kindly to Severus' friendship with Lily and he'd most assuredly turn on him the moment he found out about it.**_

**_Snape took the opportunity to look around. While Zabini had been flanked by a group of boys, Malfoy was alone. No-one seemed to be paying much attention to him. From what Severus had observed of Malfoy Senior, he'd have expected Lucius to be as much of a Slytherin King around here as his father wanted to be among his own generation. That's the impression he'd got of Lucius at the beginning of their conversation as well._**

"_**If I indeed wanted to do as you suggest I would have felt inclined to beg the Sorting Hat to place me anywhere but here." Severus told Lucius quietly and was surprised to see the other boy laugh.**_

"_**I highly doubt you are the type to **ever** feel inclined to beg **anyone** for **anything**, Severus. Like I said before, and I stick to it, you have Gryffindor bravery. And please, I say this neither to offend nor ridicule you. I was greatly impressed by your… **conversation** with Perfect Prefect Zabini, especially with his little army of goons ready to back him up." Lucius smiled. "Not that I don't think he wasn't right about your… um… **friend**."**_

_Ah, there it is!** Just as Severus had expected. It seemed that Malfoy Senior had been right and his son was just the right, evil prat that would gladly support the idea of 'purifying' the wizarding world. It was time to make another enemy.**_

"**_Since you are a second-year, judging by the fact that it took so little to impress you, I am tempted to believe that you should have been in Hufflepuff, Malfoy." Severus drawled lazily._**

**_Any response Malfoy might have made was cut off by Professor Slughorn._**

"That kid sure has guts! To talk to that Prefect and Lucius Malfoy like that! It's not what I'd have believed our Snape capable of." Tonks muttered as much to herself as to Remus or Elizabeth. "He's antagonising his whole house and the only person he's nice to is actually Lily Evans, a Muggle-born and a Gryffindor!"

"And the Sorting Hat!" Lupin quipped. He quite enjoyed this new insight into his old school enemy. It unsettled Remus that he and his friends had judged Severus so harshly and so wrongly when they'd all first started at Hogwarts. It couldn't be clearer that, had the Marauders been willing to give him a chance, the five of them could have become friends. Severus' attitude would have impressed both James and Sirius, had they been given a chance to see any of this. Remus himself was more taken by the kind and pleasant disposition the boy Severus showed to a small selection of people… or magical objects.

Remus wondered how Severus could have survived being in Slytherin. If what they'd seen so far was anything to go by, Severus must have had a hard time of being in a house he didn't really belong in, living with people he didn't like, obeying rules his whole being wanted to rebel against...

Severus was a good actor, but watching the memories now was almost like living them again with him and Remus wasn't fooled by his act. The werewolf felt the boy's uncertainty and doubt, felt his pain, fear and regret. He felt the anger and indignation that welled up inside Snape as if they were his own.

"A rebellious little bloke." Nymphadora was surprised by what she now saw of the bitter Potions Master she knew. The little boy in the memories was actually quite likeable. She wondered what could have happened to the cute little Severus to make him the way he was as a grown man. Seeing him now as he had been as a child, Tonks couldn't believe that he grew up to be a cold-blooded murderer. Now that she knew he was a Metamorphagus, she also wondered why he chose to not only hide his gift, but to hide his true appearance. She could understand it if he altered the way he looked to make himself more handsome, but what he did was the opposite.

Elizabeth barely heard her two friends as flashes of new memories unfolded before her eyes. Visions of a very happy and carefree Severus as he attended classes, most of them joined with Gryffindor and so the boy usually sat with Lily Evans during the lessons and spent his brakes in her company as well.

But there were also flashes of darker memories, memories taking place in the dark dungeon corridors and in the Slytherin-coloured dormitory and common room of Slytherin House. In those memories Snape was usually cornered by his housemates about his friendship with Lily Evans but he thought back defiantly and he had yet to yield. His devotion to his Muggle-born friend grated on all the other Slytherins' nerves, only Lucius Malfoy had never again approached Severus about her, or at least he hadn't done so in any of the memories they were reliving.

Auror Hayes' heart went out to the little boy who had the strength and bravery to oppose his whole house but still remained loyal to a red-headed girl who'd been the first person to be kind to him and the first to offer him her friendship. Severus the child had a good heart and Elizabeth wondered how he could have turned into the monster she knew the man had become. Most of the Slytherins the boy came into contact with had later become Death Eaters. Keeping company like that, it would have been natural for the young boy to follow his friends, but Severus had openly defied them and had actively fought against what they believed in.

Obviously the boy must have learned to bend a little or maybe his strength had been broken at some point later in his life.

* * *

**TBC…**

**Please leave a review behind…;)**


	3. Potions

**Disclaimer: Look to the first chapter.**

**A/N**

**A very long wait… Now my updates should be fairly regular and definitely more frequent! ;P **

**I had some very important exams and didn't have time for my stories. I'm free now, well almost. I still have an exam left, but what's one exam to the twelve I've already had? And this last one shouldn't be that bad, it's kind of like the English Speaking part of English certificates…but I'm babbling. Maybe it's because this is my first FREE day in what feels like ages:D It's also the second to last day that I had to spend at school. Ever:D Now it's a four-month holiday for me and then I'm off to University… hopefully. ;)**

**Thank you to those who reviewed and to those who've read this story! It's going to be fun later on, mostly after we emerge from Severus' memories, but there's some nice LE/SS Friendship and Romance in these glimpses of the past.**

* * *

**Chapter III**

**Potions**

"**_Hey Sev!" Lily Evans greeted her friend happily, startling him and almost making him drop an ingredient into his boiling potion._**

"_**Merlin, don't do that, Lily! You almost spoiled the potion!" The black-haired boy growled.**_

"_**Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Lily laughed looking anything but sorry. Gone was the timid girl who'd held her breath as she admired Severus' potions. The magical world, with all its wonders, and her friend's ingenuity had grown on her and she was no longer intimidated by them. "You looked so funny – so serious and intense… with your tongue poking out of your mouth in concentration!"**_

_**Severus flushed a bright pink but denied her accusation hotly.**_

"_**I did not! I don't poke my tongue out when I'm concentrating!"**_

"_**You did and you do!" Lily insisted impishly, crossing her arms over her chest, green, almond-shaped eyes twinkling.**_

"_**I do not!"**_

"_**Do too!"**_

"_**Do not!"**_

"_**Do!"**_

"_**Don't!"**_

"_**Do!"**_

"_**Don't!"**_

"_**Do!"**_

"_**I most certainly do n…!"**_

**_Severus was cut off by a splash coming from his forgotten cauldron. His neglected potion was beginning to boil over. The dark-haired boy looked at the ingredient he was holding – during the argument he'd started using the small piece of dragon egg shell to emphasize his point by waving it in the air._**

"**_Uh-oh!" Severus gulped, black eyes wide as he stared at the hissing cauldron. More and more potion was pouring over the edges and it was spitting the hot, green substance in the air._**

"**_Severus?" Lily asked nervously, no longer smiling or laughing. She looked at the boy and noticed him taking a cautious step back._**

_**Severus studied the potion a moment longer in a mixture of horror and awe as a large bubble started forming on the surface.**_

"_**It's going to blow. Grab what you can." Severus recovered from his stupor. With a wave of his hand some of the ingredients and his school bag flew into his outstretched arms. Lily caught the three potions texts he'd levitated into the air.**_

**_The two first-years hurried into the corridor. Having thrown some of his ingredients into his bag, Severus now had a free hand to grab the door handle but he stopped short of fully closing it. The boy's curiosity got the better of him. His love for potions and experimenting forced him to steal another glance at the potion._**

**_The bubble had enlarged and it was still growing. Severus stood frozen with one hand on the door handle and a stack of jars and bottles in his other arm, entranced by the chaos he'd unwittingly created by forgetting the last ingredient of his Instant Burn Solution. When the bubble swelled and was about to burst a smaller hand clasped over Severus' hand, which was holding the door handle, and wrenched the heavy door closed._**

"_**Wha…?" A loud explosion stopped Severus' protest. The door shuddered in its hinges and the pair wrenched their hands away.**_

"_**That!" Lily snapped angrily. "Are you out of your mind?"**_

"**_Well, maybe… You're not the first to say that." Severus smiled at the girl. Lily was fuming, clearly unimpressed by his show of humour. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I don't usually care much for explosions, I always avoid them." The boy's smile faded as memories of another explosion surfaced._**

**_Smoke and fire, poisonous fumes that were too light to hover on the same level as his head, but which hung in the air above it in an ominous, dark blue cloud… His mother's body collapsing onto the marble floor, her head cracking on the hard stones staining them with blood... Small hands batting at the flames on her robes as the tiny black-haired boy cried and screamed for his uncle to help… but Samuel just smiled cruelly and swept out of the room, his head in an air bubble. He'd been standing at the entrance, far enough that the explosion hadn't affected him…_**

"**_Sev?" Lily's soft, concerned voice broke in on his dark memories. "Are you alright?" She asked once his eyes had snapped up to meet her emerald pair._**

"_**I'm fine. I just… remembered something that I don't really like to think about when I can help it." Severus assured her.**_

"_**What…?"**_

"**_Who'd have thought a simple Instant Burn Solution could be so dangerous, eh?" Severus changed the subject._**

"**_An Instant Burn Solution!" Lily exclaimed. "You're kidding! Second-years do those in class! They can't be this dangerous!"_**

_**Severus smirked.**_

"_**Weeell…" He started.**_

"_**You've been trying to improve it, haven't you?" It was more an exasperated statement than a question. Lily had placed the potion texts on the floor and was now glaring up at Snape with hands on her hips and a stern expression on her pretty face.**_

"**_Yes." Severus released his bag and laid the ingredients down as well. His long-fingered hands fiddled with the strap of his wizard watch and his sleeve as he tried to explain. "I've been trying to make another new potion in the hope that Professor Slughorn might let me start work on a more difficult and more dangerous project. If he is impressed enough with those potions I showed you back on the Hogwarts' Express and this one, he might entrust me with his lab and some more volatile ingredients."_**

"**_What kind of project do you want to work on?" Lily demanded crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for his reply – she looked like a judge ready to pass judgment on some unfortunate soul. Severus rolled his eyes at her._**

"**_It's another medical potion, nothing illegal, if that's what you're worried about." The last was added hastily as Severus noticed Lily's sceptically narrowed eyes. "I'm not going to go all 'dark wizard' on you and start brewing potions from Dark Arts books anytime soon, if ever." Severus smirked at the girl._**

"**_I doubt that what you've done to this lab is going to be a good recommendation." Lily shook her head at him. Severus shrugged. "He doesn't know you're here, does he?" His silence was answer enough._**

"**_He doesn't have to know. We'll just have to clean it up before he sees this."_**

"We!**_" Lily exclaimed._**

"**_Well, it only seems fair. You _**are**_ the one who distracted me from adding that final ingredient at the correct time." He stated calmly, eyebrow raised. "Besides, what are friends for?" His puppy-dog eyes were a weapon of great power and it was beyond Lily to deny him anything when he looked at her like that. They worked well on the teachers too, although he only ever tried making them in front of those professors he liked – female professors, because he was too nervous around the wizards who taught him, always being reminded of his uncle Samuel and how delighted the man was every time he had an excuse to hit or curse him._**

_**Lily heaved a deep sigh of resignation.**_

"**_I knew I would regret this whole friendship thing sooner or later." She muttered and was rewarded with a rare look from her best friend. His dark eyes glittered with amusement and mischief. It was very rare for him to be so carefree. Severus Snape was usually a very serious child, she'd come to understand. "Do you recon it's safe to open the door now?"_**

"_**It should be."**_

"Should be**_?"_**

"_**It is." Severus corrected himself. "C'mon, let's see how much damage there is."**_

_**Snape opened the door gently and pushed it further in, pulling his hand away to avoid the still hot, green gooey blobs that rained from the ceiling. Every surface was completely covered with the green substance, only in the spot where the cauldron had been and in its immediate surroundings there was soot covering the green-stained floor.**_

"_**Well, at least it suits the dungeons – they **do** belong to **Slytherin House**." Lily commented. "I don't suppose we could just Evanesco this whole mess?" The redhead suggested.**_

"_**It's worth a try."**_

_**They pulled out their wands and cast the spells simultaneously.**_

"_**Evanesco!"**_

_**The pair glumly surveyed the meagre effects of their combined efforts.**_

"_**At this rate we won't get this done before Christmas!" Lily moaned.**_

_**A sudden inspiration hit Severus and he pocketed his wand and spread his arms.**_

"_**Evanesco omnis!"**_

**_The green goo disappeared, leaving only debris from the broken desks and chairs and pieces of Severus' cauldron. The small classroom lab looked like a whirlwind had gone through it, but at least it wasn't covered with the potion._**

"**_Wow! How did you do that?" Lily asked. Her friend was full of surprises. "I didn't know you could do wandless magic." Obviously she hadn't noticed his use of the Summoning Charm prior to the explosion._**

"**_It's not really that hard, it's a lot more powerful than wand-regulated magic, but it's very difficult to exercise control over it." Snape shrugged somewhat self-consciously. "Basically, it's like emotional magic because you have to put feeling behind your spells, even mundane ones – it's instinctive, but you have to know exactly what you want to do and you have to control the amount of magic you put behind a spell – that's the hard part." Severus smiled grimly. "If my uncle didn't forbid me the use of magic and if he hadn't kept my wand locked away back at home, I would probably never have learned how to use wandless magic. As it was, I was desperate." Severus shrugged. "I can't do much, just stronger versions of basic spells, but I'm working on it." He flashed the red-haired girl a grin before pulling out his wand again. "C'mon, there's still a lot of work to do. This place has to look like nothing had ever happened."_**

"**_Can't you just cast stronger versions of the spells and take care of the mess?" Lily looked up at him hopefully. He was a good head taller than her and he seemed to have grown quite a bit since the beginning of the school year. Probably thanks to the Hogwarts' house-elves and the delicious, regular meals they prepared._**

"_**Nope, sorry. Wandless magic is like accidental emotional magic – it drains you a lot more than normal magic. At least until you can master it properly, which I intend to do at some point in my life. I'm just eleven." He smirked at Lily but his eyes turned thoughtful. "I think learning Occlumency could help, but the books on that are in the Restricted Section."**_

"_**Occlumency? That's the kind of magic you use to block your mind from outside intrusion?"**_

"**_Yep." Severus nodded and teased her. "Someone's been busy reading stuff they shouldn't again!"_**

_**The redhead rolled her eyes and then huffed at him as she waved her wand and whispered a 'Reparo' at one of the devastated chairs.**_

"**_I've only found the definition, besides, it's not like _**you_ Mr Obeying-The-Rules-At-All-Times** haven't read lots of stuff that actually **_is**_ forbidden and dangerous."_**

"**_Hey, I only meant it in a good way!" Severus assured. "After all, I do like to take pride in my accomplishments and turning an innocent, kind-hearted Gryffindor over to the Dark side is a laudable achievement!" Snape cast a few repairing spells of his own at one of the tables and levitated it back to its rightful place. He completely ignored Lily's death glare so she swatted at his arm, eliciting a laugh from the black-haired boy. "You look so _**cute**_ when you're angry with me!"_**

**_On any other girl Lily Evans' age the adjective might have had an entirely different effect, but the Gryffindor turned beetroot red from head to toe as her temper flared. Severus dived behind a fallen desk just as a Tickling Charm flew his way. An all out charm war broke out as the pair barricaded themselves behind the rubble. Neither was using any hexes or curses – mostly Rictusempra and the Laughter Charm, either of which would only serve to send the opponent into a fit of uncontrollable giggles._**

"Didn't Sirius always say how Snape knew more hexes and Dark Arts than anyone else at Hogwarts? How evil he supposedly was? Sure, the kid does know a great deal of spells, advanced ones too, but he's harmless – powerful though he is, especially for his age." Tonks turned to Remus.

"That **improved** potion of his was hardly **harmless**." Moody cut in.

"Well Sir, he **was** distracted." Elizabeth said in Snape's defence and smiled as she saw both him and his red-haired friend simultaneously peeking over their make-shift barricades and hitting each other with the Rictusempra. The two eleven-year-olds collapsed on the ground and rolled on the thankfully green-goo-free floor in restless, giggling heaps until the Tickling Charms wore off.

"I never would have believed it that Snape used to be friends with a Muggle-born." Moody commented. "One would think that the Death Eater had been raised according to the pure-blood tradition and that he'd always followed their rules."

Elizabeth rather thought that it was nice to see the boy having some fun. Seeing him this carefree warmed her heart, especially after what he'd suffered at home and what he still endured in Salazar Slytherin's House.

The scene shifted into the Potions classroom where a very bored looking Snape was sitting next to an attentive and eager Gryffindor redhead. The Slytherin was doodling on the margins of his Potions book which looked quite old, although it had apparently been taken good care of as the only damage it seemed to have suffered were the meticulously written notes, which fit into the margins and the small brooms and Snitches that Severus was now adding wherever there was enough free space between the fine lines of his cramped, spidery handwriting.

"**_That's a mighty fine Snitch Mister Prince, but would you care to tell us what you know about the properties and use of Mandragora, since you apparently don't need to pay attention to my lecture?" Professor Slughorn had paused in his lecture and had come to stand behind Severus, peering over his shoulder. The first-year stiffened momentarily but soon managed to pull himself together._**

**_The Potions Master and Head of Slytherin was one of the few teachers who called him 'Mr Prince'. Others usually called him 'Mr Snape', if ever they addressed him at all. The pale, raven-haired boy lay down his quill and looked up to face the teacher who'd by now come to stand in front of the Slytherin's desk._**

**_Relieved that he was no longer standing behind him, Severus took a deep breath and answered the Professor's question. He didn't normally speak up in classes, never offering information even though he was familiar with the material, having learned from bitter and painful experience from home how rewarding it could be to draw attention to himself and speak without being spoken to._**

"**_Mandragora officinalis, commonly referred to as a Mandrake – a plant that reaches up to 12 inches in height, usually found in the south, by the Mediterranean Sea. It grows wild there but is also grown in other parts of the world to serve as potions ingredients. Muggles use a tame Mandragora to produce pain-numbing medicine for rheumatism and arthritis. The Mandrakes that wizards use are dangerous. It has yellow berries and its roots resemble a man in shape. The cry of a mature Mandrake is fatal to the person who hears it, while the cry of a seedling can either knock someone unconscious for several hours or put them in a coma, depending on the length of the exposure to its wailing cry."_**

**_Severus recited dutifully from several texts he'd read in the Prince family library. He frowned as he strived to remember if he'd forgotten something. Deciding that it was enough, he proceeded to explain the uses of Mandragora in potion making._**

"**_Mandragora is an immensely powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed, to their original state. It is used in many antidotes. In addition to freely given Threstal blood and Woolfsbane, among other more common ingredients, the Mandragora root – cut with a silver knife – is the main component of the Woolfsbane Potion, which enables werewolves to keep their mind during their monthly transformations." By the time he was finished, the rest of the class had grown so quiet that a pin dropping would have made a deafening sound._**

**_Professor Horace Slughorn stood there for a long moment in apparent shock, his eyes boggling. Finally he gave his round, balding head a slight shake to break out of his stupor._**

"**_That's thirty points to Slytherin for a correct answer that by far exceeds the requirements of the first-year curriculum." The Potions Professor said once he'd found his voice. "Eileen had always had the highest marks in Potions. Your mother is a Potions Mistress, I understand?"_**

"_**Yes Sir." Severus was startled that his answer had actually won him praise. His uncle would have awarded him a slap to the face in the least. **But this is Hogwarts after all.** He reminded himself. He'd known that this place would be different… well, in some aspects at least. His housemates **_weren't particularly nice**_, and what an understatement _that_ was!_**

**_Equally surprising was finding out that Slughorn had actually known his mother. While the man had often talked about the relatives of some of his schoolmates, he'd never said anything about Eileen or even Samuel Prince. Seeing as the illustrious Prince line had dwindled during the past three generations, Slughorn had paid his student very little attention before now. Come to think of it, Severus thought his mother had warned him about it in one of her letters after he'd written to her, telling her he'd been sorted into Slytherin and that Horace Slughorn was his Head of House._**

"**_Well, no wonder you know so much about Potions." Horace Slughorn beamed. "You will please see me after class, Mr Prince." He added in an undertone before addressing the class again. "Now, as Mr Prince has mentioned, the Mandragora is used…" And Slughorn resumed his lecture, his eyes every so often flicking to the black-haired boy who'd gone back to entertaining himself during this class._**

**_Severus knew the material like the back of his hand. The boy didn't want to test his luck and have everyone's attention on him again. He was nervous about staying after class. Even if he knew intellectually that there was no reason to fear his Head of House, his uncle had ingrained in him a deep-rooted mistrust and fear of all adult men._**

**_At least the young Slytherin was well-behaved enough that his obvious boredom and inattentiveness didn't disrupt the rest of the students. Although, after the unexpected display of extensive knowledge, the Slytherins were now eyeing their housemate speculatively, but with obvious approval – even if some of them did have continued trouble with hiding their surprise._**

_**On the other side of the class, the Gryffindors had less trouble overcoming their shock at having heard the usually quiet and reserved Slytherin answer a teacher's question and they weren't even trying to hide their anger at his having won so many house points.**_

_**A black-haired, bespectacled boy, who looked like he'd just escaped a hurricane because of the state of his hair, looked particularly murderous as he turned to whisper something in a fellow Gryffindor's ear.**_

Remus felt his throat clench painfully at the sight of his old school friends. James Potter looked so much like Harry and seeing Sirius there…

Tonks had apparently noticed that the werewolf had only just become aware of his friends' presence because she took his hand in one of her own while she used the other to gently rub his upper arm in a soothing, comforting manner.

**_The bell announced the end of the lesson and the students packed quickly and hurried to escape the dungeons. The higher levels of the castle were by far more pleasant and a lot warmer. Only a first-year Gryffindor girl dallied as she put her books into her bag since she was reluctant to leave her friend, not knowing what kind of punishment he was going to receive for drawing during the Professor's lecture._**

_**Professor Slughorn was sorting through the hopeless mess of papers on his desk and didn't look up to see Severus standing in front of it. The boy threw a glance over his shoulder at Lily and turning back to the teacher, he cleared his throat.**_

"_**Excuse me, Professor Slughorn?" The balding, overweight wizard jumped in his seat, startled.**_

"**_Mister Prince, why, I've almost forgotten about you, my boy!" He exclaimed cheerfully and stood up to walk around his desk until he was standing next to Severus. "Ah, Miss Evans, do you want something?"_**

"_**No Sir, I was just…"**_

"_**Waiting for me." Severus finished for her when her voice trailed off.**_

"**_I see. Well, I can't say that it's not surprising that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin should be friends. I'd thought you only sat together because of the uneven numbers of Gryffindor and Slytherin students." The teacher looked between the two first-years. "Ah, now I remember! I've heard rumours about an unlikely inter-house friendship, but I didn't know who it was supposed to be."_**

"**_Unlikely? Well, that's definitely us, right Sev?" Lily grinned at her friend, a faint blush suffusing her cheeks._**

"_**Definitely." Severus muttered almost noncommittally. His face had a pink tinge of its own since the boy felt awkward with the conversation and he still hadn't even fully recovered after speaking up in class. He knew he hadn't given away his discomfort and was excessively glad that he'd learned to hide his true feelings while at his uncle's house.**_

_**Slughorn had been eyeing the boy carefully and now his round face broke into a smile.**_

"**_Almost two months and only now I find out that you have a voice, Mr Prince. Not to mention that you actually have some knowledge of Potions. I knew Miss Evans was smart and talented at Potions and I thought that it was only her sharing a desk with you that allowed you to brew potions correctly. Now I see that I've been very wrong in my assumption." Slughorn picked a long piece of parchment from his desk. "Mr Prince, what you know of Mandragora is more than what you could have found in your textbook, as I believe you've noticed if you'd read the book?"_**

"_**Yes Sir. The book has a lot of incomplete and some outright incorrect information." Severus fought to control his voice and breathing. Being around grown-ups, especially men, always made him uneasy. **Thank Merlin for Lily._

**_Flashes of his uncle beating him appeared before his eyes. There was a good reason why he hadn't protested when Lily had insisted on staying with him. Rationally, Severus knew that the teachers at Hogwarts wouldn't really hurt him, not the way his uncle did, but that didn't mean the boy wasn't scared of being alone with one of them._**

**_Curiously, none of the older students, even seventh-years, inspired fear in him, despite the fact that most of his fellow Slytherins often threatened, sometimes even hexed or beat him. Their behaviour Severus could understand, their advances he could anticipate and defend himself against. With uncle Samuel it was different because the boy hardly ever knew why he was being punished. Sometimes he knew for a fact that the only reason behind his uncle's Crucio or a beating was a glass too many of Firewhiskey or a few Galleons lost in a game of wizard cards._**

**_Severus forced himself to forget about his home. Hogwarts was different, Hogwarts was safe. His mother had assured him that at Hogwarts things would be different and so they were – for the most part. Uncle Samuel wasn't here and couldn't hurt him. Severus was out of his reach and surely none of the professors would do him any harm._**

_**Severus took a deep breath. He didn't like the fact that Slughorn was so close to him. The man wasn't as tall as Samuel Prince, but he was still taller than Severus.**_

_**Horace Slughorn laughed, not noticing how the boy before him flinched at the sound.**_

"**_Incorrect, eh? Well, I think we'll have to meet some day so you can tell me what you think is incorrect in these books." Apparently Slughorn had become aware of how tense his student was because he stepped away and tried to reassure him. "Now, no need to worry, boy. Relax. You're not here for any form of punishment and I believe we've just solved a problem that all of your teachers have been complaining to me about."_**

"**_Sir?" Severus asked uncertainly, relaxing a fraction upon hearing that he wasn't going to be punished for anything as much as upon having some more space between him and his Professor._**

"_**Miss Evans, maybe you could wait outside…"**_

_**Alarm bells went on in Severus' head. **Teachers have been complaining about me?** His heart raced. This was certainly a reason for Slughorn to be mad and Severus didn't want to be left alone with an angry teacher.**_

"**_No!" Before he could stop himself, Severus said quickly and the Potions Professor looked at him sharply, frowning. "I mean, Sir…" Severus tried to explain, knowing he'd made a fool of himself, but almost ready to humiliate himself further by actually requesting that his friend stay with him._**

"_**It's quite alright, Severus. Your friend can stay, if you don't have any problem with this. I merely thought you would be more comfortable discussing what I'm about to tell you without witnesses." Horace reassured the raven-haired child.**_

"_**Whatever it is Sir, I won't mind and we wanted to go outside during lunch break." Severus said. His relief was quite obvious, despite his best efforts to hide it. **Maybe I need more practice after all._

"**_Well, I won't keep you down here long, I hope. Come, why don't you sit down." Severus did as he was told, used to following his uncle's instructions to the letter. Slughorn followed him and took a chair next to the Slytherin. Lily approached them and sat next to Severus after the Professor had beckoned her to come closer. "Teachers make evaluations of first-year students two months into the school year and later at the end of it. Here, most teachers have made the same observations. While your grades are very good in all of your classes, they all come from written assignments or practical tests. Every one of your teachers has expressed a concern about your continued silence and inattentiveness during lessons at the start of the term and they've repeated this in your evaluation. I've observed it myself, but since I've been monitoring your grades in other subjects, I'd come to believe it was limited to Potions. Like I said, I believed that you owed your perfect performance in brewing to Miss Evans' help. I've only just received the evaluations today, but I've read yours prior to our lesson because I was concerned for you. It was no accident that I called on you during Potions today, although I was surprised that you actually knew the material so well."_**

It seemed that at that point in time, Horace Slughorn had taken his duties as Head of Slytherin more seriously than many would have believed. This came as a surprise to both Remus and Moody, who knew the man personally.

**_Severus didn't say anything. He hadn't known about any evaluations and he hadn't been aware of anyone's concern. Concern was something he only expected from his mother and from Lily. It surprised him that the teachers had actually taken the trouble of talking about him to his Head of House and writing these evaluations._**

"_**This is what I think: I think that you've already read all of your books at home and therefore are bored during most of your lessons. You are shy and prefer to sit quietly and mutilate your books with pictures rather than raise your hand. Now, am I right or would you care to explain?"**_

**_Severus didn't know whether he should lie or tell the truth. He remembered only too well what his uncle had done the last time he'd tried to lie to him. He'd used Legilimency on him and that had hurt. A lot. Severus shivered at the memory of the excruciating headache he'd suffered during and long after Samuel Prince's venture into his mind. He didn't want Slughorn to subject him to _that_ and the wizard probably knew the spell. Severus knew he wasn't a very convincing liar so the man would know that he was being dishonest._**

**_Legilimency was another branch of magic besides Occlumency that he felt he needed to acquaint himself with, if only to know how best to defend himself against an assault. The boy had no idea how it worked. He had a faint suspicion that Legilimency required eye contact, but he wasn't sure._**

_**Then again, he didn't really have a reason to lie. Slughorn didn't look like he wanted to have him disciplined.**_

"**_Not quite Professor, I haven't read my school books at home, but I have read a lot of books and all the spells we're doing in classes were there. I've been reading my school books during classes, but I've finished most of them. I'm still half-way through my Transfiguration textbook, but so far I've only come across transfigurations I am familiar with." Severus explained truthfully._**

"**_What about History of Magic?"_**

"**_Professor I-Can-And-Will-Bore-You-To-Death Binns actually noticed someone's inattentiveness!" Lily exclaimed next to Severus and the boy couldn't hold back a laugh as his friend clamped a hand over her mouth and looked at Slughorn in embarrassment. "Sorry Sir." Came a muffled apology._**

**_Horace Slughorn fought back his own chuckle and smiled at her behind his gingery-blond mustache. His eyes strayed to the boy whom he'd never before seen so much as grinning. A polite smile or a smirk was the most he'd managed to glimpse before today and now the boy had actually laughed – even if it had been short and strangled. The Potions Professor was growing even more worried about the boy. Perhaps he'd have to contact Samuel Prince about his nephew._**

"**_No, Professor Binns didn't notice anything amiss – as the only teacher who's had the pleasure of teaching this year's first-year Slytherins." Horace told the pair. "Have you studied History of Magic as well as spells?"_**

"**_Yes Sir." Severus replied, feeling almost like he was being interrogated by his uncle. Thankfully, the lack of hexes and slaps to his face made it easier to dismiss those memories. Overall, this talk was going rather well. He was becoming marginally more comfortable around Slughorn._**

"**_And Potions? Was Mandragora a fluke or do you study it as well?"_**

"**_Potions is my favourite subject, Professor. I've done the potions in our textbook at least a dozen times each at home. I've gone through most of the books in the school library, too." Snape said earnestly, warming up to the topic._**

"**_Not to mention doing your own research." Lily piped up and a pair of onyx eyes gave her a death glare, but Slughorn's surprised yet enthusiastic question put a stop to it._**

"**_Your own research? Why, I've never had a first-year student display such an interest in the art of Potions! I do hope you're not conducting any dangerous research on school grounds, though."_**

"**_No Sir, of course not." Severus assured, feeling much more at ease after having spent so much time in his teacher's proximity without so much as a harsh word. The black-eyed Slytherin ignored Lily's unladylike snort – no doubt in memory of the job they'd had of cleaning a certain lab not so long ago – and looked up to meet Slughorn's gaze. The potion _hadn't_ been _really_ dangerous. Besides, Severus was a lot more careful with his brewing nowadays, as was Lily with distracting him. Severus decided that now was his best chance to broach the problem he'd been putting off for a long time. "I was hoping I could show you some of the potions I'd made and some improvements I've come up with, but I wasn't sure how to approach you about that Professor." Snape admitted._**

**_It was astounding how the child could be proud and self-assured in the company of his peers and yet be so scared and insecure in front of an adult. He was hiding it well behind a mask of calmness and the expression in his dark eyes could very well pass for mere shyness, if one didn't know any better. Obviously, Lily Evans did, because the confused, determined look in her eyes clearly said that she'd be asking questions the moment they left the Potions classroom._**

"**_I would very much like to see what you've been working on, Severus." The Potions Master smiled encouragingly. "Your mother is an accomplished Potions Mistress, I've heard. Is that where your interest comes from?"_**

"**_In part, Sir." The other part being the boy's desire to find a cure for his mother's progressing illness, but he hadn't told anyone about that. Not even Lily._**

"**_I see." Slughorn said studying Snape carefully, but he didn't press him. "Well, since you have plans for this break and I have papers to grade, I will let you go, but first we have to find a solution to your problem."_**

"_**Sir?"**_

**_Severus didn't know what the problem was supposed to be. So what if the teachers complained about him being quiet? He knew better than to say this aloud._**

_**Lily placed her hand on top of Severus' as Slughorn continued.**_

"**_We will make a deal, Severus. I don't want to hear any more complaints from any of the other teachers about you drawing or staring off into space in class. If you are already familiar with the material, you will undoubtedly be able to answer all of the teachers' questions, won't you?" The man winked at the boy. "You are a Slytherin, my boy, and a Prince after all. You have to show everyone that the Princes still have the same power and intelligence that they'd been renowned for for centuries." Slughorn winked down at Severus. "As a reward for your improved performance, I will test you in Potions to see how advanced you are and perhaps you may receive tuition appropriate to your level. Also, I hope you will join Miss Evans for a meeting of the Slug Club next Friday evening."_**

**_Severus' head was spinning and he nodded mutely before realising that it was required of him to give a verbal answer._**

"_**Yes Sir. I'd be happy to attend the meeting." He thought that perhaps he should have said **honoured**, but it was too late. In any case, Slughorn didn't seem to care.**_

"**_Good." Slughorn stood up with a smile and clapped Severus on the back, not realising how the boy flinched and stiffened under his touch. "Run along now, the pair of you, if you want to go outside while it's not raining."_**

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**TBC…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! ;) **

**A/N **

**I'm afraid I've lost the thread of the story and I'm not sure how I'm going to get it to work again. I know where I'm going with this and I have the finer points as landmarks, but it's going to be harder than I thought after leaving this to rest for so long.**

**Any feedback is welcome ;)**

16


	4. A Merry Muggle Christmas

**Disclaimer: Look to the first chapter.**

**A/N**

**Well, that took longer than it should have… LOL! ;) Not much to say at the moment, just an apology for the delay. I got into University and I don't know how it is in other countries, but in Poland Dentistry follows the same curriculum as Medical Studies during the first year and that makes for a heck of a lot of material to study… to put it mildly I won't even try to predict when my next update may be… or even whether it's possible in the next millennia! After all, I'm no Trelawney ;P**

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**Chapter IV**

**A Merry Muggle Christmas**

Severus Snape had taken his Potions Professor's words to heart and he'd started raising his hand in class. It was obvious that it cost him a lot, but it was doing him a great deal of good. Not only was he less nervous around his teachers, but his housemates seemed to be warming up to him because the memories of their ganging up on him were growing scarce. House points were quite important to the students and anyone who earned them was bound to gain some respect, or at least some appreciation, from their housemates.

Remus remembered how it had been and how the Gryffindors hadn't taken lightly to the change in the Slytherin boy. Lupin was surprised by the absence of any confrontations between Snape and the freshly formed Marauders.

He remembered clearly that Sirius and James had jinxed Severus' broom during one of their joint flying lessons after he'd earned twenty house points in Charms not long after his Potions breakthrough. Snape had ended up in the Hospital Wing with a broken arm because of that.

Perhaps these early confrontations didn't warrant being hidden inside the man's mind. In any case, the friendship between him and Lily and his bad relations with his housemates were definitely more dangerous, if found by Lord Voldemort. Provided that it **_was_** Voldemort who Severus was keeping his memories from…

Now when had that idea entered Remus' mind? The man had killed Dumbledore… _Harry had been quite adamant on that point when he'd relayed the events from the Astronomy Tower_... And there was no real proof that it had indeed been Snape who'd destroyed Voldemort's Horcrux...

The lycanthrope wasn't sure why, but somehow it just felt right. _Am I being too hopeful?_

From Severus' point of view, the scenes from their mutual past looked entirely different.

It struck Remus that he hadn't really known Lily Evans at all at that point. She'd been spending so much time with Snape that it was hardly surprising, but he still couldn't believe he'd never really noticed the pair's friendship and devotion to each other.

As the werewolf watched scenes where he and his friends were present, he realised that he'd been too excited about having three friends of his own to notice much beyond them.

Severus and Lily were top of their class in just about anything by now and Remus knew that Christmas was soon approaching.

**_Severus was sitting at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. While his fellow Slytherins no longer attacked him in the Den, they still kept their distance and were only civil to him, but it was an improvement. It wasn't really like he wanted their company in the first place – he had Lily after all._**

**_Every once in a while the black-haired boy would lift his head and gaze anxiously towards the windows. He was picking at his morning bacon and eggs with little interest._**

"**_Expecting an owl?" Lucius Malfoy enquired as he sat himself next to the younger boy._**

**_Onyx eyes flicked to the side and Snape muttered a greeting, ignoring the second-year's question because he was in no mood for pure-blood politics. Not that sucking up and generally playing nice to some families – particularly the Malfoys – had ever been a favourite pastime of his._**

"**_Where's your Christmas cheer, Prince? Are you staying here for the holidays?"_**

**_Snape sighed, resigning himself to a boring exchange of pleasantries, although he was quite surprised that the Malfoy heir seemed to actually want to talk to him. The older boy never bullied him like the rest of the Slytherins, but that in itself was more than enough reason to be suspicious and wary of him. After all, Severus knew what kind of man Malfoy Senior was and the young one was supposed to be a replica of Abraxas Malfoy._**

"**_That's what I'm about to find out. How about you, Malfoy?"_**

_**Lucius ignored the other boy's obvious lack of interest and served himself some toast and orange juice as he answered.**_

"_**I'm going home for a few days and then I'm going to the Blacks. Did you get an invite from them too?"**_

"_**From who? Sirius Black?" Was Severus' sardonic reply as he raised his eyebrows at the second-year. He was surprised by the blond's bark of laughter.**_

"**_Yeah, I suppose your contact with the family _is_ limited nowadays. But it doesn't have to be limited only to _that_ poor excuse for a wizard." Malfoy said with disdain. "I actually meant the second branch of the Black family. You're more closely related to Percival Black anyway, as am I." When Severus said nothing, trying to find fault in Malfoy's words and searching for hidden meanings that weren't really there, Lucius continued. "I'll take that as a no."_**

_**His pride bristling, despite his best efforts, Severus was obligated to clarify.**_

"**_I _**was **_invited, I'm just not going." He tried not to dwell on the fact that it was only because his uncle knew how much he liked Andromeda Black that he'd forbidden Severus to accept the invitation, regardless of its prestige._**

**_Snape had hoped that it may be a chance for him to spend some time with his favourite cousin and with his mother. Had Samuel not objected, Eileen might have had an opportunity to get away from her sadistic tyrant of a brother._**

_**Andromeda – now a young woman – and Eileen were very close friends; closer than their eleven years of age difference would have allowed, had the situation been different. Andromeda was the only one who never taunted Eileen for her imprudent marriage and the even more imprudent existence of her son. While not a beauty, Eileen Prince had always been a kind and gentle soul. Painfully shy – much like her son, but without his bravery and penchant for defiance – she'd been quiet and thus mostly overlooked by her family and peers. **_

**_Not so by a little Andromeda. Starved for kindness and affection, the older Eileen and the younger Andromeda had felt drawn to each other. At the beginning, Eileen had been like a mother to the little girl. Time had progressed their relationship to a level of equality. Now, at twenty-one, Andromeda found in the thirty-two year old Eileen her closest friend and confidant, while at the same time she returned the favour by being the only kind and friendly person in Mrs Snape's miserable, very isolated life… besides her only son, that is._**

This was all made clear by Severus' astoundingly mature and accurate thoughts and observations, as well as aided by memories of events he'd witnessed. The boy's thoughts now led the intruders to the answer of their previous question, as he recalled flooing Andromeda, in a state of panic and begging the girl – ten years older than him – to come and help his mother…

**_If it hadn't been for Andromeda Black, his mother would have died immediately of poisoning after that potions 'accident' he remembered so vividly despite having been but four years old at the time. Cousin Meda was his favourite relative for a very good reason._**

_**Severus forced himself to return to his meal. Not that he'd got any more hungry – he was still rather pretending to be eating than actually emptying his plate.**_

"**_It's a pity. Christmas is always fun there." Lucius observed after a moment of silence when it became obvious that Severus wouldn't deign him with a reply. Severus shrugged indifferently, shaking off memories of the past as he did so. "Do you like Andromeda?"_**

"**_Andromeda's probably the only one of my cousins that I genuinely like." His cool reply didn't have the desired effect. Snape wanted to have as little to do with Malfoy as possible, but Lucius was persistent today. He remained unoffended. This was the most conversation they'd had since after the Sorting Ceremony._**

"**_Mine too." Lucius sighed and Severus' head shot up at his tone. Snape studied the other Slytherin with keen black eyes. He appeared more perceptive than could have been expected of an eleven-year-old, which he proved with his next words._**

"**_Maybe you should switch your betrothal to Narcissa to one to her oldest sister?" Severus suggested, amused for the first time that morning. The dreamy look on Malfoy's face when he'd sighed his admission of liking Andromeda Black more than anyone else from the pure-blood families he was even remotely related to was priceless._**

_**Lucius snorted but he'd wrinkled his nose at the mention of Narcissa, who was a year younger than Severus and would be attending Hogwarts in a year's time.**_

"**_An arranged marriage is not something to taunt about in polite company, Prince." Malfoy said indignantly, while pointedly looking ahead of himself rather than at his companion. The raven-haired boy couldn't help laughing at his haughtiness. Somehow he didn't find it as annoying as usual at the moment._**

**_Hearing a muffled sound from the smaller boy's direction, Lucius looked sideways at him and blinked as he saw that he was laughing. Without inhibition. Severus Prince was actually _laughing_ and he was doing so in the company of his housemates, no less. The first-year was usually cold and distant while in their vicinity, although most of the time he _did_ strive to be polite. Snape never dropped his guard around the Slytherins, especially the 'Aristocracy' to which he had the right to aspire and of which Lucius himself was a proud member. _**

**_Severus was the only heir to the Prince family fortune and their only hope of regaining their position in pure-blood society, his tainted blood notwithstanding. He wasn't his uncle and, despite outward appearances, it was his mother who was considered the more respectable of the two Prince siblings. She may have married a Muggle and she may be ostracized for it, but she was an accomplished Potions Mistress while her brother was merely the lord of their family estate and the sole possessor of their fortune – a man without any true recommending or distinguishing qualities: narrow-minded, cold and cruel; his only asset being the purity of his blood. What all the pure-blood families were waiting for was for Eileen's son to take his place as lord and head of the family._**

_**Samuel had unknowingly brought down on himself the censure of the pure-blood society by his attempted murder on his sister – a blood-traitor, to be sure, but a pure-blood witch just the same.**_

**_Severus Snape had a lot to prove, but he _**was**_ a half-blood _**Prince

**_The Slytherins had accepted that from the very beginning. In fact, the only one who still hadn't was Severus himself. He'd grown up hating his uncle and everything that man stood for – blood purity and placing the greatest importance in society, among things like: cruelty, the Dark Arts, and sadism – and now he found that hatred difficult to let go of. Not that he'd actually made any serious attempts yet. The world was black and white in his eyes. People – good and bad. Ideals – right and wrong…_**

_**He had a lot to learn yet…**_

**_Even though the blond Slytherin knew that Severus was laughing _at_ him, the sight of his expressive, dark eyes glittering with amusement was strangely gratifying. Samuel Prince had similar eyes: equally black, yet smaller and rounder, framed by shorter eyelashes, but most of all – the eyes were set in a sinister, stern face. Malfoy despised the man. Eileen's son was good-looking and still no more than an innocent child – he and his uncle were very different. However, when Severus was his proud, reserved, stubbornly defiant self, the likeness between uncle and nephew became quite startling._**

_**Wanting to prolong the moment that could be easily mistaken for camaraderie by a casual observer, and knowing that his carefully guarded secret was now in Severus' hands anyway, Malfoy leaned over and whispered in his ear.**_

"**_Unfortunately Meda is much too old for me, not that I want to get married anytime soon anyway." Lucius straightened in his seat and grimaced. "I'm twelve for Merlin's sake!" He complained in a whiny, but sincere voice Snape hadn't heard leave the blond's lips ever before._**

**_Severus knew that it was lord Lucius Malfoy, son of lord Abraxas Malfoy, who was talking to him, but somehow that only made the boy's plight all the more hilarious. No longer trying to stifle his chuckles, Severus burst out laughing. He knew that he was being tactless and that such behaviour would do nothing to improve his social standing, but he couldn't help himself. The incongruity and sheer irony of the Malfoy family heir having a crush on a much older cousin, one whom Severus knew to be in love with a Muggle, was fully appreciated by the bright eleven-year-old. _**

_**The fact that Lucius had no say in who he would have to spend most of his life with made the older teen appear entirely more human than Severus had ever viewed him.**_

_**If Snape didn't know who Malfoy's father was and what kind of man Lucius was bound to become, he would have felt genuinely sorry for him.**_

_Thank Merlin uncle Samuel hasn't thought to force my hand like that… yet. **It was a scary concept. In situations like this, the teen could feel a measure of gratitude towards his evil grandfather and uncle for having successfully compromised the Princes' very high social standing. He was doubly glad for having a Muggle father too. **_

_**Severus was still at that point in his young life where the mere thought of kissing a girl made him sick. The only women he liked were his mother, some of his professors, Andromeda… and of course his friend Lily.**_

_**As if on cue, a couple at the Gryffindor table started making out. **Gross!** Severus grimaced and turned his eyes away.**_

_**Lucius smirked at the raven-haired boy. That pair of Gryffindors really could make a person lose their appetite. Severus met Lucius' gaze and was surprised when the latter indicated the Gryffindor pair with a subtle movement of his head and his expression twisted into an imitation of his own disgusted one.**_

**_Severus realised with a start that if he wasn't careful, he might actually learn to tolerate the pure-blooded, arrogant Aristocrat. However, before he had to make any decisions regarding his relationship with Malfoy, the owl post arrived in a flutter of hundreds of wings._**

**_Snape's head shot up and he scanned the ceiling of the Great Hall for the large, snowy owl that delivered mail to the Princes. His heart leapt as the magnificent bird flew inside through the window._**

**_The boy dared to hope as an envelope fell into his lap. The owl circled his head once more before perching itself at the corner of the table and helping itself to Severus' almost untouched bacon. The black-eyed Slytherin stroked the white feathers of the owl's back while he contemplated the sealed envelope. The handwriting was unmistakable – it belonged to Samuel Prince and this fact filled Severus with dread. He'd purposely written to his mother and not his uncle._**

**_Bracing himself and reminding himself that he'd almost been in Gryffindor, Snape bravely opened the envelope and pulled out his uncle's letter._**

**'Dear Severus, **_What a mockery! **Severus almost snorted.)**_

**Your mother is not feeling well and I myself have business to attend to during the holidays. Your presence at the manor is unwarranted and Eileen and I both agree that it would be best if you remained at Hogwarts for the time of the holidays, instead of imposing on us.**

**Best regards,**

**Your Uncle, Lord Samuel O. Prince**

**P.S. You are not to attend the Christmas party at the Blacks. My decision is final.'**

**_Severus didn't know whether or not he'd imagined Malfoy's sardonic voice mutter a vehement 'Bastard' at his shoulder. The boy had read the letter from where he was sitting beside the first-year._**

**_Snape swallowed hard. He was used to his uncle's brusque, harsh manner and he was beyond the point where he could be hurt by it. He'd also resigned himself to not being able to visit with his cousin. No, this wasn't the reason why his throat constricted either._**

'_Your mother is not feeling well.' **Severus read and repeatedly reread the line.** She's getting worse. She must be getting worse._

_**In a haze, the young boy folded the letter, poured some water into an empty goblet and offered it to the snowy owl, which was still busily attending to his plate.**_

"_**Prince?" Malfoy asked in a concerned voice as the black eyes of his companion lost their focus. "Severus, are you all right?"**_

"**_I'm fine." Severus said tonelessly. Without so much as a glance at the Prince owl or at the second-year who'd been unusually friendly towards him, the black-haired boy rose to his feet, dusted his robes from imaginary dust and swept out of the Great Hall._**

_**Lucius Malfoy had stood up and made as though to follow, but the sight of a redheaded Gryffindor hurrying after the retreating boy's back compelled him to reconsider.**_

"**_Severus!" Lily shouted once she was out of the Great Hall. "Wait up!" She sprinted after her friend, concern evident on her face. Severus rounded a corner and stepped into an alcove. Footsteps echoed in the corridor and Lily came into view, looking frantic as she shouted again, having lost sight of the boy. "Severus!"_**

"**_I'm here." Severus called quietly to get her attention. For a moment he hadn't been certain whether he wanted to let her know where he was or not. Did he want to talk to her right now? What alternative did he have? Hiding out here or going into the Den, where Malfoy and the other Slytherins, by now filled in on his uncle's warm and loving letter, could accost him?_**

_**Lily spun around, her robe flapping about her small frame.**_

**_Quite suddenly, the Gryffindor had no idea what to say. Neither did Severus. He didn't feel like offering up information about himself._**

**_Nonetheless, it was a curiously warming and heartening discovery that his only friend knew him so well that she'd immediately realised that something was wrong, even from across the Great Hall, and that she'd wasted no time in coming to his aid. Severus was grateful to her, more so than he could express even if he wanted to._**

"_**What's wrong?" Lily stepped into the alcove.**_

**_Severus exhaled as she neared his hiding place, her soft voice and warm green eyes compelling him to be honest..._**

"**_Nothing," Severus assured, or tried to, "I just couldn't stand Malfoy's company any longer."_**

"**_Uh huh, try something else, Master Prince." She crossed her arms over her chest, something she seemed to be doing quite often while speaking to Snape._**

**_Severus shuddered at the title. 'Master Prince' was his uncle, not him. It was bad enough being called 'Mr Prince' or 'Prince' around the school._**

"**_I saw the letter you got." Lily pressed. "What did it say? Is something wrong, Severus?" Her tone was gentler now and she laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He had to fight the urge to flinch away. "You know you can tell me anything." She implored._**

_**Snape closed his eyes and leaned back until his back was against the cold, stone wall.**_

"**_It's nothing, really." He said quietly. Before Lily could say anything, Severus' eyelashes fluttered and his dark eyes opened. "I wanted to go home for Christmas, but my mother is sick and my uncle said I have to stay here. I guess I'm just disappointed, that's all." He braved a small smile for his friend's benefit, but the girl wasn't fooled._**

_**Lily Evans frowned as she studied Severus.**_

"_**That's not all. There's something you're not telling me, Severus."**_

"_**No, there isn't." Severus protested. "Here, read the letter yourself." He dug his hand into his robe pocket, retrieved the envelope and handed it to the redhead.**_

**_Lily read the letter and handed it back. She noticed how void of feeling the words were, but then Severus had always told her that pure-bloods generally weren't too big on expressing their emotions. Nonetheless, there was a stark contrast between the letters she was used to having from home and the letter Samuel Prince had written._**

"_**I have to get my books for Latin." Severus told her, consulting his watch.**_

"**_Ok, so do I. How about we meet by the statue of the Headless Rider? It's the same distance away from the Den as it is from Gryffindor Tower." Lily agreed. The girl had an idea and all she had to do was write a letter to her parents. "Chin up, I'm sure your mother will be fine." Lily told him before departing, an unusual empathy having led her to the heart of the problem._**

_If only she knew…** Severus thought.**_

Tonks resolved that she would really have to have a serious chat with her mother. Soon.

There was no doubt now that it had been Andromeda Black who'd saved Eileen Prince's life. Why hadn't the woman told her own daughter that she was related to her Potions Professor? Snape had had plenty of flashes of memories where Andromeda had played with him when he'd been younger. There'd only been glimpses of them present, but they'd been among the few pleasant memories the child seemed to have from his early childhood.

Tonks couldn't help but grin at the thought of Lucius Malfoy having a crush on her mother when he'd been a child.

"This is curious." Elizabeth said thoughtfully, breaking her friend out of her reverie.

"What is?" Nymphadora inquired.

"Didn't you feel it?" Auror Hayes looked at the other woman.

"Feel what?"

"Emotions, thoughts… They didn't belong to Severus, not all of them." Elizabeth's eyes narrowed in thought and wonder. Nobody questioned the fact that she'd just referred to England's most wanted murderer by his first name – an almost affectionately spoken first name. She turned to the werewolf. "Remus, tell me you felt it too."

"I…" Lupin frowned. He'd been meaning to say no, because he'd been unsure of what it was that Elizabeth meant, but now he realised that she was right. "I could almost see what Malfoy was thinking… and Lily too. It wasn't as clear as with Severus' thoughts and feelings, but it was an unusual insight. Should this be possible?"

"Not as far as I know." Moody joined in the debate. He looked at Elizabeth Hayes as if waiting for her to contradict him.

"I've never heard of anything like this, Sir."

"**_What took you so long?" Severus grumbled when Lily finally showed up at the decided place. He'd managed to overcome his fear and reinstate his logic. Over the years he'd read every available material about the poisonous effects of the fumes his mother had inhaled more times than he could count and he'd known for over three years that her condition would steadily deteriorate._**

_This just means I have to hurry with finding that cure. **Snape resolved.**_

**_Determination added a spring to his step as the pair made their way to the Latin classroom._**

The lesson passed without any extraordinary happenings. Severus had already known Latin before coming to Hogwarts, as many of the books in the Prince family library were written in the language and it had been necessary for him to learn it. This was not unusual for pure-bloods, half-bloods or in some rare cases – Muggle-borns coming from old families.

Memories flowed, but they were of little consequence. Lessons, working on homework and potions; the two children running around Hogwarts planning mischief, playing tricks on each other… and on the Marauders.

Remus couldn't help but be amused by the Prank War's innocent beginnings. There were some more serious incidents, like the one with the jinxed broom, which usually only surfaced in Snape's memories as the boy's vague recollections, but not as actual events. This gave the werewolf pause.

"**_Sev!" Lily Evans practically skipped down the corridor, an open envelope and a letter in her hand. "Sevvy!"_**

_**The boy had become accustomed to the first nickname, the latter, however, made him wince.**_

"**_I am sorry to disappoint you Lily, but I am not some kitten or puppy you can claim as a pet. My name is _Severus****NOT Sevvy_!" His voice held a dangerous edge, but the effect was lost due to his pleading gaze._**

"**_Um, sorry. I meant no offence. You don't mind _Sev_, though, do you?" The Slytherin had only momentarily got her off track, though, and the Gryffindor didn't even wait for a reply. "Anyway, I've just got a letter from my parents and I _so_ hope you agree to this!"_**

_**It was Severus' turn to be baffled.**_

"_**Agree to what?" He asked suspiciously, knowing Lily too well not to be wary when she was bouncing on the spot in excitement and her eyes were shining with hope like the brightest of emeralds.**_

"**_Agree to come home with me for Christmas! Oh, I hope you will! It would be great! We could have so much fun! And my parents would love to meet you. I'm sure they're going to love you! How could they not? You're going to like them too, they're great. My sister isn't that great though, but my parents will make Petunia behave. They promised to take us shopping into London, if you came. You could go to Muggle shops, the movies, try out our food. You would stay in the guestroom. It's got a great bed with the thickest mattress I've ever seen. Oh, and my grandmother, she'd be thrilled to talk to you. She tells the greatest stories and she knows so much about history! Remember when you said you'd like to read up on Muggle history? And my grandfather was a soldier in the Second World War, he…mmhh."_**

**_Severus had been trying to stop the girl's excited, overenthusiastic chatter but to no avail. She didn't seem to hear his gentle entreaties. At a loss, Snape resorted to a more direct approach and covered her mouth with his hand, simultaneously moving the other to the back of her head to prevent her from freeing herself._**

"_**Mmhh…" Lily tried to protest.**_

"**_Quiet, girl!" Severus half demanded and half pleaded, the latter of which was quite rare for the eleven-year-old. "I'm going to release you now and you're going to start at the beginning. S-L-O-W-L-Y."_**

_**After waiting a few seconds, true to his word, Severus loosened his hold on his red-haired friend.**_

**_Lily blushed furiously, suddenly extremely embarrassed and nervous. She lowered her eyelashes and peered up at the tall boy from beneath them._**

"_**I'm sorry, but I would just **really **like you to come visit us for Christmas. Since you're supposed to be staying here, I thought you might come with me. You'd be lonely here at the castle all by yourself and it would be so much fun if we could spend the holidays together." She flushed even more, questioning the brilliance of her idea for the first time. It had really seemed to be the perfect solution at the time. She'd decided to ask her parents if her friend would be welcome that day when he'd received that dreadful letter from his uncle.**_

_**Severus just stared at her completely aghast. **Lily wants me to stay at her home for the holidays? And her parents actually don't mind?_

"_**So?" Lily asked nervously, when she couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence anymore. Now that she'd asked him, she was afraid that he wouldn't want to come.**_

"_**I would… I mean, gosh, Lily!" He stammered. **So much for the etiquette I've had drilled into me. **He thought wryly. "I'm just surprised, I guess. Sorry." Severus ran a hand through his long, curly hair. "Normally you don't get invited anywhere unless your families do business together or are closely related… I…" **What am I saying? It's pure-blood stuff she has no understanding of, not that she's missing out on much.** "You know I'd love to, Lily. But I don't want to impose. Your family doesn't know me, it wouldn't be proper, it's…"**_

"_**It's all right. My parents already know more about you than you can imagine! I haven't written one letter to them without saying what a great friend you are! They know everything we've been doing here." Lily smiled looking at him in earnest.**_

**_Severus blushed at her words. He wasn't used to people saying nice things about him, or at least he wasn't used to taking what was being said at face value. One couldn't survive long in the pure-blood society if they didn't learn this lesson. The boy had already experienced first-hand what the consequences of ignoring one pure-blood rule were, he could easily imagine what would happen were he to ignore the others as well…_**

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!** Severus cursed himself. He hadn't even considered what his uncle's reaction to him spending Christmas with Muggles would be. For all he knew, he could be endangering Lily and her family.**_

"**_Uncle Samuel would never agree to this." He said softly, his hope being replaced with a sad acceptance and resignation._**

_**Lily's face fell, but momentarily her green eyes brightened.**_

"**_Maybe not, but he doesn't have to know in the first place, does he?" She said resolutely. She knew very little about the man, but what she did know was enough for her not to like him._**

"_**He… He'd find out. He'd find out for sure. All he'd have to do is check it with the Headmaster or my Head of House."**_

"_**But he'd have to have a reason to check it with them."**_

_**She had a point. Why was it him that was in Slytherin and not Lily in the first place? **Because you bloody _asked_ the Hat to place you in Slytherin.** A voice in his head was quick to answer.**_

_Okay. First things first: Do I want to go with Lily or not? **The answer was a definite 'Yes'. **In that case it's about time I start earning my place in Slytherin. I have to have some traits fit for the House. I am a Prince after all.** For the first time since he'd made it into Slytherin, his mother's family name and her House didn't fill him with disgust. **Mother was a Slytherin.** The thought repeated itself in his head as if he'd only now learned of this. **This deception should be child's play. And it's absolutely foolproof. What could possibly bring uncle Samuel to check whether or not I'd spent Christmas at Hogwarts after I'd been told quite clearly that I was not welcome at home? The thought that I might have been invited somewhere surely hasn't even crossed his mind!_

"_**Are you sure it would be okay for me to come?"**_

"**_Of course I'm sure." Lily Evans said, exasperated. "So you'll come?" She asked eagerly, impatience forgotten._**

"**_Yes, if you are positive you want me there and that it won't be an inconvenience?" Instead of an answer, Lily launched herself at Severus, her slender arms winding around his neck._**

**_They hadn't had this kind of display of feelings ever since the trip on the Hogwarts' Express, but Severus trusted her and was fairly comfortable with her touch by now. He returned the embrace and a wide grin spread over his face. His dark eyes glittered from between locks of his raven hair._**

Moody had to admit, but only to himself and even so he was doing it under protest, that the boy Snape was quite likeable and a good kid – at least at such an early age. If only the child had had a different household environment...

Would that have changed anything? Why was he even thinking along these lines?

The hardened Auror didn't like the thoughts that were arising in his mind.

How **had **Severus Snape – a half-blood by birth, a Gryffindor at heart, a genius at Potions, a friend loyal and devoted to his dying breath, a child stubborn and defiant to a fault – become the heartless, depraved, haunted shadow of a man Mad-Eye had met in a dark, cold cell in Azkaban roughly about ten years after the events they were now witnessing? How **had **he become a **Death Eater**?

This was a question Alastor Moody had never once thought to ask of any of his prisoners. A question he'd never felt the need to find a satisfying answer to.

The fact that they bore the Dark Lord's Dark Mark on their forearms had been the only reason Moody had concerned himself about – that being the reason for hunting them down and throwing them into the wizard prison after all.

The days that led to the holiday break passed in a blur of memories. Lessons, conversations, working on homework in the library, playing in the snow out on the school grounds. Most of them were good memories. Severus Snape and Lily Evans were excited about the upcoming holidays.

The Slytherin was an elusive _'guest'_ in his common room and dormitory, leaving at first light, eating breakfast at an almost empty table in the Great Hall, devouring his other meals at a lightning speed and only coming into the Den when it was the end of curfew. The boy tended to ward off his four-poster and read books until he was too tired to keep his eyes open.

This kind of routine seemed to work well for him.

Soon enough Snape was packing his things and he and Lily were leaving the school for the Christmas holidays.

"**_Mum! Dad!" Lily shouted happily and bounded through the crowd of people on Platform 9¾, leaving Severus to struggle with their luggage._**

**_Being left behind like that momentarily turned Severus' nervousness and apprehension into irritation, but the respite was short-lived and the churning in his stomach returned with double force when he caught sight of the red-haired girl pulling her parents towards him._**

"_**Mum, Dad this is Severus Snape, or Severus Prince as some call him." Lily winked at her friend, knowing that her addition must have irked him. "Sev, these are my parents. My sister, Petunia, obviously isn't here, but I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough." Then in a whisper that only the Slytherin could hear: "**Too soon** most likely."**_

"**_It's an honour to finally meet you, Mr and Mrs Evans." Severus said courteously. He bowed his head slightly in formal greeting. "Although the circumstances are quite awkward. Lily has assured me that I would be welcome at your home during the holidays and I can't express my gratitude, yet I am very sorry to impose on you in such a manner."_**

**_The greeting and apology, thus stated, surprised Lily's parents, but they both smiled down at the black-haired boy. Apparently they'd heard a lot about him from their daughter because they exchanged amused, almost conspiratorial glances before Mrs Evans turned to Severus._**

"_**It's a pleasure to finally meet you as well, Severus." Helen Evans' smile was warm and welcoming as she extended her hand to shake Severus', who, just like during his meeting with Lily, kissed her hand instead.**_

_**Lily giggled and Mr Evans laughed softly.**_

"**_Lily was right, you really _are_ a young gentleman. Such are scarce nowadays." Mrs Evans said approvingly, shooting a glare at the other two and bestowing a maternal smile on Severus._**

_**She was of average height, had a slim build and hair as fire-red as her daughter. The Slytherin now knew where Lily must have got her beautiful, green eyes. **Beautiful? Did I just think that?_

**_Dressed in a long, black coat the woman wouldn't have looked very out of place on the wizard-filled streets of Diagon Alley or even Knockturn Alley, Severus suspected. It was amusing to compare the grace with which she moved in it to the way some wizards looked in the clothing they'd attempted to convert into what they perceived to be suitable Muggle attire._**

"**_Indeed they are." Mr Robert Evans agreed with his wife, stepping closer to shake Severus' hand. He was tall and slim, with dark, short-cropped hair. He smiled at the boy. "It's nice to meet you, Severus." Snape shook his hand and smiled politely, but the adults seemed to both notice the way the child stiffened at first and how relieved he was when Lily's father let go of him and laid his arm around his wife's shoulders instead. Mr Evans frowned and looked at his wife only to find her studying their daughter's friend with a note of concern. "It will be a pleasure having you with us, I am sure. Besides, I believe Lily would have spent most of her time writing to you in any case. This way we can spare the poor owls and satisfy our own curiosity."_**

_**Mrs Evans gave her husband a sharp look.**_

"**_We've been wanting to meet you ever since Lily had first written to us and told us how nice you'd been to her on the train and how much you'd helped her settle in at the school." She told the black-haired boy._**

_**Severus blushed at her words.**_

"**_Lily helped me a lot more than I did her, Mrs Evans. She hardly needed any help settling in at Hogwarts."_**

"_**Oh, don't be modest Sev! I would have wanted to come back home before ever arriving at the station if you hadn't been there. And I wouldn't have managed to learn all those subjects without you!"**_

_**Seeing that the children were about to get into an argument, Mrs Evans turned to her husband.**_

"**_Robert, why don't you take the children's luggage and we can get on our way. It's getting late and it's cold."_**

_**Mr Evans took hold of his daughter's trunk and was about to grab Snape's when the boy beat him to it.**_

"_**No, thank you Sir, I can handle it."**_

"_**Nonsense, Severus." Mrs Evans scolded. "Those trunks are as big as you are!" She took Severus by the hand and gently pulled him away from his trunk.**_

"**_It's because of the Decree about Underage Magic. We had the trunks shrunk before leaving the school, but we had to turn them back on the train or else risk incurring the wrath of the Ministry of Magic." Severus complained and Lily giggled at his dramatic sigh._**

**_Lily's parents had a car and their house was in a town near London. The ride was a new and exciting experience for Severus – as was seeing Muggle London in preparation for Christmas. The boy was silent, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the window, much to Lily's amusement. His dark eyes were drinking in the sights around him like a man dying of first would greedily and reverently swallow mouthfuls of water._**

Tonks watched the unfolding scenes with interest and not a small amount of sentimental memories entering her mind. The home of Lily Evans was just so much like her own home had been…

However, Nymphadora was fully aware of the fact that for Severus Snape, the warm and friendly atmosphere accompanying the family's preparations for the holiday was something entirely new and unknown… something the child had only read about in books and had spent countless sleepless nights dreaming about.

The young Auror, despite her own feelings for the man, was glad that the eleven-year-old had found a place where he was welcome and liked by all. The boy's intelligence and manners were fully appreciated by Lily's family. Unlike the Slytherin's housemates, their appreciation had nothing to do with any personal gain, like house points. This was quite refreshing. Only Lily had never really demanded anything of Severus, besides his friendship.

The Metamorphagus felt like a voyeur – no, that wasn't right – she actually felt like a real criminal for watching these memories. The longer they looked into them, the more uneasy and guilty she was beginning to feel. Tonks felt even worse because they were experiencing the boy's thoughts and feelings. This made the violation even more horrid.

All that was ever required of a prisoner were dry facts. Whether the object of a questioning was the exoneration or the sentencing of the accused, no person questioning them under Veritaserum could ask about their innermost thoughts and feelings.

It was more than a confession they were getting here, and a confession hadn't even been what they'd been attempting to accomplish this evening. The three of them were getting an insight into Severus Snape's life and character that none could have ever hoped to gain, no matter what magical or forceful means they used.

**_Severus absolutely loved shopping in Muggle London. He had quite a bit of money on him, for a boy his age, and he'd been most eager to spend the majority of it on various books. Snape had been slightly apprehensive about purchasing things his uncle might find and punish him for having, but he soon overcame that fear._**

**_The first-year wrote daily letters to his mother, without clearly stating where he was in case they were intercepted by Samuel Prince, and he was happy to receive regular responses. Eileen Prince assured her son that she was feeling all right and while he didn't fully believe her, her letters nonetheless filled him with hope._**

"**_Severus! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Lily burst into the guestroom where her friend lay curled in the middle of a large bed._**

**_The redheaded Gryffindor jumped onto the thick mattress, effectively jerking the black-haired boy from his fitful sleep. Severus groaned into his pillow. He'd been having a good dream – something that did not happen often. His friend was bouncing up and down on the springy mattress, driving him crazy and effectively rendering any attempt at falling asleep again futile._**

"_**Lillian Jane Evans you just have the worst timing!" Severus whined. "I had a **great** dream about inventing a wonderful potion that..."**_

"**_Brought you great fame and glory! I bet you had fan girls hanging all over you!" Lily teased him, earning a hit with his pillow. The redhead grabbed a second pillow and reciprocated – an all-out fight broke out, with feathers flying and war calls mixing with laughter._**

_**Obviously sleep was forgotten…**_

"**_MUM! Lily is fighting!" The voice of Petunia Evans carried over the racket the pair on the large bed was making._**

**_A skinny, blonde girl stood at the open door of the guestroom, looking at Lily and Severus with disdain clearly written on her long, horsy face._**

"_**Tattle tale!" Lily managed to say angrily between pillow assaults, but she didn't yield and neither did Severus.**_

"**_Lillian, Severus!" Robert Evans called out from the door. His wife appeared at his shoulder._**

**_The two first-years froze, pillows hanging in midair, loose feathers slowly descending in a spiralling motion over and around the bed, resembling real snowflakes as they fell to create a soft carpet so much like the one outside in the garden. Mr and Mrs Evans were speechless for a moment as they surveyed the scene. Severus and Lily lowered their pillows, upsetting what stuffing was left in them._**

_Oh Merlin! We're in so much trouble now! I can't believe I was that stupid?! **Severus felt a cold sweat rise on his back. He flicked his eyes up to Mr Evans' face. **He's going to punish us. He has more than enough reason to do that._

"**_It's my fault, Mr and Mrs Evans. I'm really sorry." Severus tried to deflect Mr Evans' anger from his daughter. He didn't want the girl to be punished. The boy cared about his friend too much to let her get hurt._**

_**Snape wondered how Mr Evans could go about the punishment without the use of magic. **Uncle Samuel likes beating me as well as the curses and hexes… **Severus rationalised. His face clouded. The eleven-year-old only hoped Lily wouldn't get hurt. He didn't think he could bear to see his only friend being beaten, even if it was a punishment they both deserved for their misbehaviour.**_

"**_No it isn't, Severus." Lily, kind-hearted and honest as she was, could not allow him to take the blame. Especially for something they were both equally responsible for. "We were both fighting."_**

"_**I started it."**_

"_**No, you didn't."**_

"_**Yes, I did."**_

"_**No, you didn't.**_

"_**I did."**_

"_**You didn't."**_

"_**Did."**_

"_**Didn't."**_

"_**Did."**_

**_Before they could continue with their argument, Lily's parents apparently could take no more because they erupted in a fit of laughter. The raven-haired boy, with his dark, serious eyes, clad in his black pyjamas and the red-haired girl, with her green, lively eyes, dressed in her forest-green pyjamas looked adorable together. The fact that they were so heatedly arguing and trying to take the full blame for the incident on themselves made them all the more charming and heart-warming._**

_If the boy's view of the world wasn't so twisted that he believed Evans' father would actually hurt them, this could be more than a little amusing. _Elizabeth thought grimly. The Auror was pleased to see that the girl's parents seemed to have taken note of their guest's uneasiness and the haunted look he got when he was alone with or too close to Mr Evans, or right now, when he believed himself to be in trouble.

Auror Hayes noticed that, while Lily Evans and Lucius Malfoy's minds felt almost as open to them as Severus' was, she could not discern anything from the other people figuring in Severus' memories, except what was in plain sight. She could only suspect that Robert and Helen Evans were aware that something had to be wrong with Snape, but she also knew that they had no way of finding out the truth. The boy was unlikely to say anything and as long as he stayed silent, it would have been impossible for the Muggles to prove anything.

"**_Okay, that's enough you two!" Mrs Evans laughed. "No one is going to get punished. It is Christmas Day after all. Isn't that right, Robert?"_**

"**_Of course." Her husband agreed with a smile. His gaze lingered on Severus, as though he meant to reassure the young boy especially – which he probably did. "But next time you might want to consider having a snow-ball fight in the garden instead of making this make-shift snow cover in the house." The man joked, leaving Severus slack-jawed._**

_**The boy was aghast. **We're not going to be punished for this mess? What's the difference if it's Christmas Day or not? **He looked over at his red-haired partner in crime. **Lily doesn't look surprised that we're being let off this easily. **Severus frowned slightly. Everything here at Lily's home was strange and foreign to him. Everyone seemed to care about each other. They were openly affectionate and always nice to each other. Severus' mother tried to be like that, but only when her brother was away. Otherwise it was just too dangerous. Petunia was perhaps the only person in the house who wasn't friendly all the time, but she only seemed to have a quarrel with her older sister. Otherwise, she was okay. **Lily's home is just like the homes I've read about in books!** Snape thought in wonder and felt, not for the first time, a flash of jealousy. Why couldn't his own home be like that? Why couldn't the manor he lived in even be a real **_**home_ to him? Not in the full sense of the word. _**_It's not fair.I don't even have a father. I never even got a chance to meet him before he died. **Severus felt his eyes misting at the mere thought of his unknown father. Tobias Snape had died before he was even born.**_

"**_Now, why don't you two get dressed and then you can come down to open your presents." Mrs Evans told them. "Come and help me in the kitchen, Petunia."_**

"_**But Mum, how can you let them off without punishment? They…"**_

"**_That's enough, Petunia." Mr Evans said sternly. "Go help your mother." He turned to his older daughter and his expression softened. "Lily, go to your room and get changed."_**

_**Helen Evans smiled one last time at Snape before leaving. A sulking Petunia followed after her. Lily scrambled off the feather-covered bed, obeying her father without question or argument. Before she reached the door, however, she turned around to face Severus. Her face showed a challenge.**_

"**_Hurry up, Sev. I bet I can get ready and be down in the living-room before you are!" She winked at him and ran off to make good of her threat._**

"**_You'd best hurry, if you want to win." Mr Evans grinned at his guest before leaving as well. He closed the door behind him._**

**_Severus was left alone with the white mess on top of and around his bed. The realisation that he had suffered no painful or even remotely unpleasant consequences was slow to fully sink in. This was something beyond his comprehension. _**

**_The boy had managed to find and 'borrow' a book on Occlumency from the Hogwarts' Library, from the Restricted Section, to be exact, so now he put what he'd read into practice. He tried to clear his mind, especially of thoughts of his father and the life he had at home. After about ten minutes of exhausting mind exercises, the boy's black, fathomless eyes lost their sad, haunted look. Once he believed himself to be under control, Severus scuttled to the bathroom and got himself dressed in express speed._**

_**And he did so in the nick of time, because the door to his room burst open without a knock, the only warning having been the sound of scampering feet. **Lily.** Severus half groaned internally, before he even saw a mop of red hair poking inside and emerald-green eyes peering at him from the shadows of thick eyelashes.**_

"_**Aren't you coming?"**_

"_**What about this mess?"**_

"**_Later, there are presents downstairs. Come on, everyone's waiting for you!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her. She ignored the fact that his shirt was still sticking out of his trousers and his sweater was only pulled over his head and one of his arms. Not to even mention the pitiful state of his long, curly hair. Running behind her, allowing himself to be pulled in a most undignified manner, Severus did his best to right himself. Unfortunately it was done with little success and when he stumbled after the redhead into the living-room where the whole family was already gathered by the fireplace, he knew he had to look a fright._**

**_Hurriedly, Severus tucked his white shirt into his trousers and pulled his sweater on fully. He ran his hands through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it, but his fingers got caught in a knot._**

"**_I keep telling you that you need a haircut, Sev." Lily piped up, much to Severus' chagrin and her family's amusement. The way she bossed the boy around and the contrast between her open and lively nature and his usually reserved, serious one were a source of great enjoyment to the Evans family. The boy felt comfortable enough in their company that he glared at his friend._**

"_**I would shorten it, if I wasn't afraid of risking an official reprimand from the Ministry. That's just the thing my uncle would love to find out about."**_

"_**It's called a hairCUT for a reason." Lily rolled her eyes. "You could have it cut without magic."**_

"**_Maybe, if I wasn't _a Metamorphagus_." Severus huffed. "The only way I can change anything about the way I look is by morphing or using potions and spells. I can't do that without magic."_**

"**_Oh." Lily's face fell a bit, but the expression was momentarily replaced by an intense, determined look that Severus knew could not bode well – if not for him then for someone else. "We have to work on that Masking Spell. Then we'll both be able to do magic here without worrying about the Ministry."_**

_That freedom is probably the only thing besides my mother that I miss about home. **Severus sighed internally. Lily had a point. The spell itself, if cast correctly, didn't register in the Ministry, even if it was cast by a minor – as far as Snape could understand it, the spell masked itself from the moment of its casting.**_

"_**I suppose, but we won't be able to do it now, anyway. The wand-movement is too complicated and it has to be done correctly the first time, or else."**_

"_**If anyone can do it, I'm sure you can without any trouble."**_

**_Severus flushed at her words. She had a way of making him do that. She complimented him very often and she did it as easily as others threw derogatory comments at him. The red-haired Muggle-born made him feel special and appreciated. Her family, also, made him feel like he belonged. The small boy would never have believed that he could enjoy the Christmas holidays so much._**

"**_Great, just what we need is Lillian being able to use magic." Petunia muttered under her breath. She threw a disgusted look at her sister but, surprisingly, she didn't include Severus in it. "Dad, can we open the presents now?"_**

_**And so they did.**_

**_Severus held back, not really enthusiastic. He supposed that Lily must have got something for him and perhaps his mother might have snuck something behind Samuel Prince's back, but the young boy was not used to finding Christmas much different than any other day of the year. Except when he was forced to attend a tedious and painfully stiff Christmas dinner with one of those pure-blood families with which his uncle was more closely acquainted. This, in reality, meant those families with which the Princes were most closely _related_. The Blacks, the Lestranges, the Notts, the Hendersons, the Baxters and the nearly deceased Saunders family were prominent and well-connected enough to satisfy lord Prince's requirements._**

**_Out of the whole, only the Black and the Saunders families had one or two members who had any recommending qualities, in Snape's humble opinion at least. Andromeda Black was his undisputedly favoured relation, while the elderly Mr and Mrs Saunders – who were Severus' great-grandparents on his mother's side – seemed nice enough. Severus figured that was the reason why he'd only had the pleasure of seeing them on a handful of occasions – and those he probably only owed to the fact that their fortune and estates were to be part of his heritage._**

**_They'd had an argument with Samuel Prince and, as a result, Severus – their closest male descendant apart from Samuel – had been named the sole inheritor of their fortune._**

_Another reason for my uncle to want me alive, for the time being at least. **Snape thought with cynicism unbecoming of a child his tender age.**_

"_**Here." Petunia Evans appeared at his shoulder and extended her hand. Severus was snapped out of his grim thoughts. He looked at her questioningly.**_

"_**Excuse me?"**_

"**_An elastic band. For your hair." She explained with a careless shrug, although he noted her slight blush. Only now did he see that in her hand, indeed, lay a plain, black elastic band. After seeing what odious combinations of colours Lily put in her hair, the boy couldn't help but feel relieved and extremely grateful for her sister's choice._**

"**_Thank you. It was very thoughtful of you, Petunia." He said sincerely. "It's perfect. If I'd asked Lily, she would have given me something pink, no doubt." This earned the first true smile he'd ever seen from the girl. And he wasn't anything if not an expert at discerning the honesty of a person's expression. "Some help, please? If it wouldn't be too much trouble." He asked somewhat shyly himself._**

"_**Of course." The girl's smile brightened and she complied by helping him to pull all his hair into one ponytail, tied at the nape of his neck.**_

"**_Thanks." Severus smiled at his friend's sister. For all of Lily's stories about the younger girl, Petunia didn't seem that bad. The animosity between the two sisters left Severus quite confused, because he had no doubt that they cared about each other deeply, and yet they didn't seem able to get along at all._**

**_He didn't dwell on this though and allowed himself to be pulled by an Evans girl once again, only this time the girl was blonde and a lot less hyperactive, rather merely over-enthusiastic. The boy was surprised at having received as many as five presents. _**

_**The first – large, wrapped in green paper and tied with a silver ribbon (**What a Slytherin combination!**) – was from Lily. As Severus opened the package, he wasn't overly surprised at finding copies of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and an assortment of all his favourite sweets inside – Muggle and wizard. He'd been meaning to buy that book while they'd been out shopping but they'd had to leave the bookstore before he'd had the chance. His dearest friend knew him well and he was overcome with gratitude – not just for her thoughtful present, but for her even more thoughtful invitation to spend Christmas with her family.**_

_**It was lucky for him that Lily had opened his present just then – a book on wizard traditions and customs as well as one on ancient magic rituals, plus the obligatory collection of candy he knew was her favourite – because the girl launched herself at him just as he'd been contemplating the problem of not knowing how to express his own gratitude. Lily's way suited him just fine. He didn't even stiffen for a moment this time – a marked improvement – and he readily returned her embrace.**_

"_**Thanks Lily!" He said at the same time as she said: "Thanks Sev!"**_

**_More effusive expressions of gratitude followed before they resumed opening their presents._**

_**The second present was from Petunia – a surprise to Severus, but one that made him grateful that he hadn't listened to Lily and had actually bought something nice for her sister instead of the Blood Lollipop, more suited for Vampires than for human consumption, which the redhead had initially suggested. Greater even was Snape's surprise when he saw the contents of the box – a football. He'd spent an evening watching a football match with Lily, Petunia and their father and had been quite fascinated with the unknown sport. This gift almost made him wish he had some friends in Slytherin to try to play with… Almost. It wasn't likely that any of those pure-bloods or the half-bloods – endlessly wishing for their blood to magically purify itself – would ever get off their high horses for long enough to even consider playing a Muggle sport. The other houses were out of the question because of his unfortunate placement as well… **Oh well…_

**_The third present was from Mr and Mrs Evans – books again – Muggle adventure books. His reputation for being enamoured with the written word had preceded him and his spending the holidays at the Evans' home had only assured everyone of the truth of that._**

_**Hence the fourth present – from Lily's grandparents – consisted of two thick volumes on history, as well as a beautiful hat, scarf and gloves in deep forest green, with a silver thread woven in-between, knitted by the elder Mrs Evans. Severus was astonished that something that looked so fine could actually be the work of hand-labour and without the least bit of magic. He said as much to Mrs Evans while thanking her, thus endearing himself to the elderly woman even more than his impeccable manners and impressive intellect already had.**_

**_The fifth present – last but not least – was from Severus' mother. Surprise, surprise! It was a… book. It was very old, but in good condition; bound in leather, with gold lettering. _**

"_Occlumency – A Journey Through The Mind And A Guide To Its Defence"_

_**How his mother had known to give him this book, Severus had no idea, but he was ecstatic upon receiving it. It would spare him the necessity of breaking into the Restricted Section and "borrowing" a copy of this particular work.**_

_**Attached to the book was a letter and Severus hastened to open it.**_

**'Dear Severus,**

**I'm very sorry that we couldn't spend Christmas together and I can only hope that you are enjoying yourself more at Hogwarts than you would have here. I miss you dreadfully, my son.**

**Having seen you performing wandless magic at home and knowing that with your school studies you've no doubt learned more control over your power, I've decided it was time for you to start learning Occlumency. This is another step towards becoming a truly powerful wizard. Your uncle knows nothing of this, just as he knew nothing of your performing wandless magic. Take care that it stays that way. Don't tell anyone else about this, either. You're in Slytherin and I'm afraid Slytherins are not to be trusted.**

**I know you're worried about me, but you needn't be. I am feeling much better. So much so that I'm beginning to think I might overcome this illness after all.**

**I hope to see you soon.**

**Love,**

**Mother'**

_**This was turning out to be the best Christmas in Severus' life. Eileen's letter gave Severus enough hope and joy that he actually managed to forget about his mother's sickness for the remainder of his stay.**_

_**The days that followed Christmas Day were equally wonderful. Severus was treated as a member of the family and this sense of belonging and being accepted by so many people was an entirely new experience for the boy.**_

**_The days were filled with amusement and much laughter, the children having nothing to do but enjoy their presents and play in the snow. Severus had never before known things like ice-skating or riding a slay… well he _had_ read about it, but he'd never seen it done nor had he ever enjoyed it himself._**

_**Lily was very happy for her friend, by now knowing something of his family home, and she took great delight in introducing him to many Muggle traditions and customs.**_

**_When the time of departure grew near, Snape felt no small amount of regret. This made him feel guilty. When he'd been leaving his own home in September he'd felt relief, only slightly tempered with regret for leaving his mother with his uncle… this time he felt no relief at all, and it wasn't even his home or his family he was leaving behind._**

****

* * *

****

_**TBC…**_

30


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